The Departed, a film written by William Monahan, Alan Mak, and Felix Chong, directed by Martin Scorsese, was in my opinion a spectacular crime-thriller deserving of less criticism from overly sentimental viewers. Though this film is in some scenes brutal and vicious, I praise Martin Scorsese’s refusal to cower away from the undeniable truth that organized crime in the United States is murderous in nature just to satisfy certain viewers as critics advocated he should. Being a four time Oscar winning film with sixty-three other awards for numerous aspects in the movie industry, I don’t believe anyone can contradict that The Departed is profoundly unforgettable to masses of moviegoers.
The film takes place during the height of Irish mob boss Frank Costello’s (Jack Nicolson) reign of terror over the streets of south Boston. Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is used by Costello to infiltrate the Massachusetts State Police as a part of the Special Investigations Unit so he can give information to the mob from the inside. Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is sent undercover by the Massachusetts State Police freshly out of the police academy to Frank Costello’s crew due to family ties with members in the mob. After Costello slips by countless police operations to catch him both characters become aware of each other’s presence in the conflicting groups. This starts an extremely suspenseful and thrilling race to discover each other’s identities to save their respective lives.
I feel this film is so riveting because of the masterful performances of the actors. The foremost performance in The Departed for me was the masterful execution of Frank Costello by Jack Nicolson. The part of a half insane, and terribly greedy mob boss seemed to come flawlessly for Nicolson in every scene watchers had the enjoyment of seeing him in. His acting...
