The Departed
****

The new offering from Martin Scorsese sees him leave behind the historical sets of Gangs of New York and return to his urban roots with gangster flick The Departed.

Billy Costigan (DiCaprio) has always wanted to be a cop and he’s sent undercover to infiltrate Irish-American Frank Costello’s (Nicholson) mob. Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) has been groomed by Costello to be mole from an early age and is now Costello’s informant in the Special Investigations department. The two contrasting moles go in search of each other.

The picture is unapologetically violent and depicts murder as merely a way of life, but in the midst of all the guts and gore the film explores particularly in the case of Billy Costigan living a life with an identity that isn’t yours. Leonardo DiCaprio excels as the troubled cop who is horrified with the release he experiences through leading this violent lifestyle.

Despite a stellar cast of DiCaprio and Damon who are supported by Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin and Mark Whalberg they are all overshadowed by Jack Nicholson, as the seasoned actor goes from charming to one step short of the nut house in the toss of a coin.

The movie is intelligent, fast paced and unpredictable its one an only draw back is its failure to break any new ground in the gangster movie genre.

by Helen Earnshaw