The Best of Pictures: The Departed (2006), by Josh Long

4 Jul

THE DEPARTED (2006)
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Written by: William Monahan
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson

So I should probably start out by saying that I am a big fan of Martin Scorsese. I think he is a brilliant filmmaker and has made some of the most important American films of all time. That being said, I felt like The Departed was one of his more disappointing offerings, and not really the Best Picture for 2006.

It’s a genre crime film that follows two cops, one good, one bad, both trying to find the mole in their organization. Matt Damon’s Colin Sullivan is a crooked cop working within a crime ring run by mob boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). William Costigan Jr., played by Leonardo DiCaprio, is sent in by the PD to infiltrate Costello’s organization. Costigan is trying to root out Sullivan, and vice versa, but neither of them knows who the other is (at first).

The film, based on the Hong Kong crime thriller Infernal Affairs 1, has a good energy to it, it keeps you on the edge of your seat. The performances are good, I wouldn’t say great – nothing to write home about. The crime plot is a little messy to work out, possibly because the film on which it’s based was a three-part series. Even Andy Lau, star and co-director of the original, said that it seems ludicrous to cram the three films into one. Of course, that means the story has enough twists and turns to keep you guessing, but it’s a little tough to become invested in the characters. Matt Damon’s character in particular seems so wooden that he’s almost filler 2.

The real problem I have is that it doesn’t stand out. It’s forgettable. Nobody will be talking about it in ten years, except to say “what was that Scorsese movie that won Best Picture?” It’s got exciting moments, but it isn’t moving, it isn’t poignant. The biggest statement that comes out of the movie is probably that some Boston police are corrupt, but tell me something I didn’t already know. Another problem is the setting. In taking a non-American source matter and moving the locale to Boston, Scorsese loses that New York Italian-American charm that made him so appealing in the 70s and 80s. It doesn’t feel like a Scorsese movie.

I don’t feel strongly about its Best Picture win – I wouldn’t have picked it, but of the nominations, it was at least a decent front-runner (I have enough problems with each of the other nominees that year). The real problem I have is with its win for Best Adapted Screenplay. Catchy lines and clever plot twists don’t make a good script. Sure, it works for a crime movie, but it’s not that original. Instead of taking us inside the crime industry like Goodfellas did, it drops it unceremoniously in front of you. There it is, crime organization, you know how it works, you fill in the blanks. And the characters aren’t engaging enough to really draw us in to their troubles. In contrast, Little Children, one of the other Best Adapted Screenplay contenders that year 3, has deep complex nuances and fascinatingly troubled characters. When a movie with a stand-out script gets panned, I’m always a little upset.

The Oscars sometimes have a tendency to try and make up for past ills – going into the 2006 Academy Awards, Martin Scorsese director of such films as Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, and Goodfellas, had won zero Oscars. It’s almost as if someone behind the scenes realizes, twenty years later, that it seems absurd that a man of such standing in American film has never been recognized by American film’s most prestigious award. So when his next film pulls around, everybody gets together and decides they’ll throw him a bone. It’s the pity Oscar.

Those familiar with the Academy Awards will know that there was a similar situation in 1969 when John Wayne was given the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in True Grit. Sure, it was good, but John Wayne deserved Oscars for movies like Stagecoach, The Searchers, or The Quiet Man. Wayne was getting old by the time True Grit was released, so the Academy wanted to make sure he got one before he died 4. It’s a similar situation with Scorsese- I’ll admit I loved to see him on that stage with one of those little statues in his hand, but if I were him, I’d go home, scratch out The Departed, and write Raging Bull in its place.

1 I know, I looked at this for a long time thinking, “Isn’t it Internal Affairs? Otherwise isn’t it just a bad pun?” And yes, it is, but maybe it’s the translation – I don’t know, but that’s what it’s called.

2 Not to put any of the blame on Damon, he does a fine job, it’s just that the character is very one-dimensional.

3 And, coincidentally, my pick for the year’s best picture.

4 Apparently, upon receiving the Oscar, Wayne said “If I’d known that was all it would take, I’d have put that eye patch on forty years ago.” If you don’t know anything about True Grit, that won’t make any sense to you. And I’m not going to explain it. You’ve got the internet, look it up.

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