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Shelf Beauties |
The Departed Men, our movie has
arrived! No more
Zach Braff whining
about his love life or pretty boy Ashton Kutcher trying to act butch. The
Departed has MEN, like Nicholson, Sheen,
DiCaprio and Marky Mark. It
is THE movie
for guys this weekend, and an Oscar contender, when so many pretenders
have
failed this fall. Jack Nicholson stars as
Frank Costello – a long time Irish mobster in Which rat will be caught
first? Can anyone
bring down Costello? It seems like every male
actor in The
Departed’s
main strength
is the way writer William Monahan (based on the Hong King movie Infernal
Affairs
by Sui Fai Mak and Felix Chong) sets up all of these competing
comparisons
between characters as the story unfolds before you.
We see Costigan as the good guy, but he lives
a lonely, dangerous, dirty life, eating in smoke filled bars, while the
bad guy,
Sullivan, gets accolades, a fancy apartment, five star restaurants and
a hot
girlfriend, Madolyn (Vera Farmiga).
Then, we see the loving, fatherly relationship
between Costigan and
Queenan versus the bullying mentor relationship between Costello and
Sullivan
and how those effect each character’s decisions along the way. Finally, Monahan fills the
movie will all
sorts of interdepartmental squabbles, office politics, and colorful
characters
to make the movie dense enough to keep the audience on its toes and
paying
attention all the way through. The
Departed also
benefits
from one of the best casts in the business.
Nicholson is gripping as the mob boss, who might be
going a bit loony
along the way. He
knows the audience
wants every scene chewing, eyebrow raising, rage erupting moment, and
Nicholson
delivers again and again and again.
It’s
as if Scorsese just told Jack to roll with it, and kept the camera
going to
catch every wild moment.
Then, you throw in DiCaprio
who sparkles in scenes with Nicholson and on his own.
He has an amazing intensity, and knows when
to turn it on, and when to step back so Jack can be Jack. Even Marky Mark puts in a
memorable for the
ages performance as he spouts off vulgarity-filled dialogue that is
equally
hilarious and frightening. Finally, The
Departed is a
winner because of Martin Scorsese.
As a
true lover of film noir, he understands how to use shadows and darkness
from
the opening, and soon to be classic, silhouette of Costello walking
through a
warehouse to a steamy chase through The
Departed is very close
to standing with Goodfellas,
Raging
Bull and Taxi Driver
as one of Scorsese’s
finest movies. 4 Waffles
(Out Of 4)
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