CIN3MA

When you are pissing continuously all over Hollywood, it is films like The Departed that urge you to stop the stream and look up every once in a while. And this time we saw an abundance of hope, in the form of Martin Scrosese’s latest crime drama, which spots the light on words like invigorating, shocking, authentic and frightening. Not to mention boasting an extremely badass cast.

In simple form, The Departed is a story about two young men who grow up not so much differently–they both share a common dream of serving the public and the law by becoming state police officers. However, they are influenced by extremely different outside factors. One of them, Colin (Matt Damon), was cared for and directed by notorious mobster, Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). Thus, he pays his dues to the hand that fed him by giving Frank inside information on the workings and operation plans of the state police, defeating every effort to catch the bloody criminal.

The other, Billy (Leonardo DiCaprio), is smart, courageous yet conscientious and unyielding to the misguided hands of evil. Unbeknown to almost everyone in the force, he works undercover to track down and stick a charge to none other than Frank. However, when his two secret contacts in the force are killed and expelled, Billy finds himself in a painful solitude.

To make things even more complicated, they both fall for the same state police psychiatrist, Madolyn (Vera Farmiga), who is incredibly hot by the way. Yes, I only mention her role in this film because of that very reason. Sue me.

While the movie runs well over 2 hours, there is not one moment of absentmindedness. Every second and every heartbeat counted. That is the genius of Scorsese—he does not let you go astray in your thoughts. Add to that the shocking ending that will leave you thinking “Boom! Headshot!” over and over. You’ll get this inside joke if you’re familiar with Counterstrike. If not, you can proceed to die.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie very much. It has the perfect ratios of action, crime, drama, romance and even comedy. The Departed is a movie you must see at any cost.