Ah, The Departed. The film that made Martin Scorsese able to call himself ‘Academy Award Winning Director’. Of course Scorsese is most known for other, earlier work, such as Goodfellas, Taxi Driver and Raging Bull. I’ll admit, I was having certain doubts about Martin Scorsese. Prior to The Departed, I had seen Hugo and The Wolf Of Wall Street. I think that Scorsese is a good director, albeit not a very subtle one.

Initially, I was pretty certain I wasn’t going to get into this film. As the film went on, I did find myself enjoying the film’s commentary on criminal life and the police life. The film has a convoluted plot that can be awfully hard to follow if you’re not paying attention. I get the feeling that this is one of those movies that I’ll like better on subsequent viewings.

The film has a decent screenplay and a strong ensemble. Jack Nicholson delivers a fantastic performance that quite astonishingly wasn’t nominated. Leonardo DiCaprio is also amazing, and we also have some decent performances by Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg.

The Departed is a good film. It is a confusing and long film, but one thing it isn’t is boring. I didn’t like it as much as The editing is pretty good, albeit a little hard to follow at times. Having seen the film some time ago and just now writing the review, I find that the film didn’t make the impression I feel it wanted to. But who knows, maybe multiple viewings will change that.

****