Yesterday I took my Netflix envelope flaps to Blockbuster and got a few free movies for the kids to watch over vacation and, for us, "The Departed." We'd been dying to see it but never could make it to the cinema; it was released on DVD last week and has been languishing in the #1 position on my Netflix queue ever since! No longer!
Martin Scorsese has returned to what he does best: the organized-crime drama. And he managed to get pretty much everyone to be in this one: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen. It's in some ways a cliché plot, but it's successful, thanks to strong actors working with a terrific script. DiCaprio plays a deep-deep-undercover cop trying to infiltrate the Irish mafia, led by Nicholson. Damon plays a corrupt cop who makes sure Nicholson always stays one step ahead of getting nabbed. Both groups know they've got a rat—who will find it first?
DiCaprio was outstanding in this—surely his best performance to date. Mark Wahlberg was terrific too. The others were all good, but none stood out—I could just as easily imagine other actors in those roles. Which isn't to say that it was a "waste" of these actors, just that they didn't shine quite as brightly as DiCaprio. (Plus, wow, he's awfully cute.) The story was gripping from start to finish, pretty easy to follow if you're used to this sort of thing, and extremely violent. I mean, really, really violent. Blood everywhere. If you're squeamish, you might want to skip this one altogether—or wait for the abridged-for-TV version (which would be about 8 minutes long and feature no dialogue whatsoever—yes, "strong" language also plays a prominent role).
My only complaint, and I know I sound like a broken record, but when will someone hire a proper Boston-accent coach? I mean, Damon and Wahlberg are Bostonians, so they did OK, but the others? Nah. It's not as simple as just dropping those r's, people. (For the record, I don't have a Boston accent—I watched too much TV as a kid, I guess!—but I certainly know the real thing when I hear it. I bet every Bostonian can pick out a phony accent after hearing just one sentence.) DiCaprio did surprisingly well, except for one small scene (look for him on the subway) when he slipped right into his "Black Diamond" Aussie African accent! The only woman in the movie, Vera Farmiga, sounds like she's from New Jersey. Because she is! And, even aside from the accent issue, I waited 151 minutes to believe that Jack Nicholson could possibly be Irish—Boston Irish at that—and it never came. Ah well.
But these are minor quibbles. Anyone who likes this genre will love this movie.
I agree! Also agree about the Nicholson thing. He's too old to be running around as much as his character does - and he's not one bit Irish. But the movie was just great.
Posted by: pam | February 21, 2007 at 10:00 AM
We watched this last Friday; it was definitely the best movie I've seen in quite awhile
Totally agree with yoiu on DiCaprio. He finally looks like an adult instead of a teenage boy, so maybe that's why I found him more appealing. I will say that I loved him in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape". Juliette Lewis is the only flaw in an otherwise perfect movie...I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it.
I really hope MS gets Best Pic and Best Director.
Posted by: semmens | February 21, 2007 at 04:19 PM
This is really funny, because for a second I thought you mentioned What's Eating Gilbert Grape without mentioning Johnny Depp..... ;-) (For the record, I can't stand Juliette Lewis in anything.)
Posted by: Karen | February 21, 2007 at 04:22 PM
She always looks dirty, doesn't she ? ;)
Johnny Depp..well okay, he looked pretty tasty in that flick. I haven't (GASP) seen the Pirates of the Caribbean films so I can't comment on them. Did love him in "Blow."
LOL, can you tell I used to manage a Blockbuster, back in the day?
Posted by: semmens | February 21, 2007 at 04:27 PM
I'm having the hardest time convincing my husband that DiCaprio is actually a decent actor - especially since they quit putting him in the "cute young man" roles. Have you seen Blood Diamond yet? It's on my list of "to-be-seens" too.
Posted by: Deborah | February 21, 2007 at 06:03 PM
This was by far the meatiest role he ever took on -- and he proved himself worthy of it. I too had thought of him as just another "pretty boy," but this changed all that. If your husband likes Scorsese crime movies , believe me, he'll enjoy DiCaprio's performance. Andy was VERY impressed with him (and had previously thought of him only as "that guy from 'Titanic'").
We saw a preview for "Blood Diamond" before "The Departed" and I added it to my Netflix queue.
Posted by: Karen | February 21, 2007 at 06:14 PM
Few things are more painful than a badly-done Boston accent. I still have nightmares about Laurence Fishburne in "Mystic River"
That being said, I thought most of the "Departed" cast aquitted themselves reasonably well... except for the psychiatrist/love interest, whose scattershot approach to the accent recalled Kevin Costner in "Robin Hood." Ouch.
Posted by: TwoBusy | February 22, 2007 at 08:35 AM
The WORST of all time was Tom Hanks in "Catch Me If You Can." And he didn't even need to try the accent -- it didn't have to be Boston for the plot. Oh, the pain, the pain.
Posted by: Karen | February 22, 2007 at 08:49 AM
The all-time, take-the-cake, worst Boston accent for me is Laura Linney as Sean Penn's wife in "Mystic River". It is truly painful every time she opens her mouth.
Posted by: Rachel | March 17, 2010 at 11:33 PM