Film #4: The Departed (2006)

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Movie #4: The Departed (2006)
Oscar wins: 4- Best Picture, Best Director (Scorsese), Best Adapted Screenplay (Monahan), Best Film Editing
Nominations: Best Supporting Actor (Wahlberg)
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Written by: William Monahan from the film Infernal Affairs by Felix Chong and Alan Mak
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg
Length: 151 minutes
Budget: $90 million

The Departed, based on the 2002 film from Hong Kong, Infernal Affairs, is a crime drama about two moles, one in the state police and one in the mob, and their struggle to stay hidden, find each other, and above all: stay alive.

Billy Costigan (DiCaprio) enters the Academy and wants to work for the police, but is instead forced to go undercover as a police mole in the mob. Meanwhile, mob boss Frank Costello (Nicholson) has trained Colin Sullivan (Damon) to infiltrate the same police force as a mole. The Departed shows the gritty, face-paced life of South Boston crime-- both from the police stand point, and that of organized crime.

Scorsese goes out on a limb with this film by remaking a movie only four years old, and taking the setting from Hong Kong right into the streets of Boston. What he created, though, was a huge success. The Departed is a film that makes the viewer think, and takes them on a ride where they begin to question-- who is the hero? who are the villains? and what other stars are going to pop up in this film?? From the leads of DiCaprio and Nicholson, to the new age femme fatale Vera Farmiga, to even Alec Baldwin. It's a very Hollywood, big-budget film, on the complete opposite end of the spectrum from small, Bollywood Slumdog Millionaire.

Another interesting aspect of The Departed is how it brings crime into the 21st century, taking the old noir and crime films and putting a new age twist on them. It talks about fate, chance, and how lives can become so intertwined in a world of death and virtual war. This movie also shows the new age American dream, with DiCaprio struggling to ovecome his name and family history to get somewhere in life, and Damon using his past to get ahead in the world (in anyway he possibly can) and make money. It calls loyalty into question, and shows lies and deception and their use in the world. And, throughout it all, Scorsese keeps the film in check, keeping it on track and preventing it from going over-the-top.

For as incredible of a film as The Departed was, it may be somewhat surprising that it only came away with four Oscars (and only five noiminations!). However, when considered, it doesn't seem like such a surprise. It won the other three awards that Best Picture winners typically receive: director, screenplay, and editing. Other than those awards, though, there was not much else The Departed had: very little in the way of a musical score (like most Scorsese films), great actors but all with small parts, only one real female (which, again, was a small part from Farmiga), and nothing toward cinematography, effects, or sound (all of which it did not need). As a result, The Departed won everything it deserved, and was even given a supporting acting nomination for Wahlberg (which I would argue should have gone to Nicholson, DiCaprio, or Damon, but I'm not sure who was considered as "lead." Also, DiCaprio got a best actor nomination for his other film, Blood Diamond).

Also, at the 64th Golden Globe Awards, the film actually lost Best Drama Film to Alejandro González Iñárritu's Babel (which, incredibly enough, only won that one award, losing three supporting acting awards, director, score, and screenplay). The Departed got one award, Scorsese for best director, but it's acting awards were a little more how I would have liked: DiCaprio getting a lead nomination (for Blood Diamond as well!), and Nicholson and Wahlberg getting nominations in the supporting category.

So, my fourth film is done, and it was an amazing film at that. The Departed is really a Hollywood film, that appeals to the main stream public and is an incredible piece of filmmaking. It's a tough call between it and No Country, but I think The Departed just edges it out in my book (maybe it's just because I'm a Scorsese fanatic...)

Rankings:
1. The Departed (2006)
2. No Country for Old Men (2007)
3. The Hurt Locker (2009)
4. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)