ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies

IF YOU LIKE your thrillers tough and uncompromising then “The Departed” is one of the best we’ve seen in a long time.

Martin Scorsese’s return to the mean streets of urban America is a stylish reinvention of the Hong Kong hit ‘Infernal Affairs’ that develops into an edgy, gripping saga of trust, loyalty and the thin line between vice and virtue.

Set in South Boston, “The Departed” features a chilling star performance from Jack Nicholson as veteran mob boss Frank Costello. He is the very embodiment of evil, turning from charmer to callous killer in the blink of an eye.

Detectives Queenan (Martin Sheen) and Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) would love to see him behind bars, which is why they recruit cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo Di Caprio) to go undercover and infiltrate Costello’s organisation.

Costello also plants a mole deep within the police department using model detective Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) as his eyes and ears.

The film explores the unbearable pressures on the two men as they try to achieve their goals, conceal the level of deception, and stay alive.

An exciting, blood-drenched saga, “The Departed” may be one of Scorsese’s most despairing films. It depicts a world in which there is little to choose between cop and criminal, corruption is rife, and the only certainty is death.

This is a dark, dynamic tale from the man who gave us “Goodfellas” and “Casino” that is distinguished by some fine ensemble performances, shocking acts of violence and the kind of dialogue you wish you had said yourself.

After a career lasting close to forty years, Scorsese is still a master of his craft and an expert investigator of desperate characters and their moral dilemmas.

Nationwide release
Director: Martin Scorsese
Stars: Leonardo Di Caprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin
Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, Alec Baldwin
Screenwriter: William Monahan
Certificate: 18
Running time: 151 mins
Country: USA
Year: 2006

© Allan Hunter, 2006