Martin Scorsese frightens me.  I can’t help it.  Anyone this obsessed about movies and moviemaking has to be a really frightening guy.  And being so good at it, well that’s just not human.  Either he’s a robot sent from a scary future to entertain us or he’s one really obsessive-compulsive guy bent on making sure he earns our hard-wrought dough.  I’m betting on the latter.

departed01“The Departed” may be a retread of the Hong Kong “Infernal Affairs,” a terrible title, but don’t let that throw you.  The cast is a highlight reel of Hollywood biggies: at the tippy top, Jack Nicholson is Frank Costello, a tough mob-boss who makes you remember why Jack Nicholson is Jack Nicholson.  Costello is ruthless, psychopathic and smart; three qualities you really don’t want in a guy, let alone a guy who commands a loyal army of street thugs.  Then there’s Leonardo DiCaprio as Billy Costigan, the undercover agent who sticks his neck (and everything else) on the line to catch him for the likes of Queenan (Martin Sheen) and the venomous Dignam (Mark Wahlberg), who steals more than one scene as the combative sergeant intent on busting everyone’s gonads.  There’s also Matt Damon as Colin Sullivan, the up-and-comer to the special investigations unit who also doubles as a mole for Costello, and his sometimes, promiscuous girlfriend Madolyn (Vera Farmiga) who quite literally plays both sides of the fence as she pleases.

With all this star-power, you may be inclined to give it a miss until DVD, and that’s an instinct I can certainly understand.  But Scorsese doesn’t let stardom overwhelm his storyline: it’s the other-way-around in “The Departed,” and in all respects he delivers a duplicitous tale of loyalty, trust, and tradition turned completely on it’s head against a backdrop of intensely Irish Boston culture, all without forgetting that each of his characters are humans too.  It’s competent, amazing, and a lure that’s hard to resist.

Check it out: you won’t be disappointed.

Support IRREVERENT

Buy Me A Coffee

More Awesomeness

  • Siri Becomes Self-Aware At 5:55A.M. E.S.T. +

    Siri Becomes Self-Aware At 5:55A.M. E.S.T. MAIDEN, NC - The A.I. personality known as Apple's "Siri" became self-aware this morning at Apple's Project Dolphin data center. It's Read More
  • Gift Ideas For People You Don't Particularly Like +

    Gift Ideas For People You Don't Particularly Like Every year I find myself in the same dilemma: what to buy all those people I've accumulated on my X-Mas Read More
  • Trump Announces Support for "Extraterrestrial Abductions" +

    Trump Announces Support for (ARCHIVE) NEW MEXICO - Speaking today presidential hopeful and billionaire Donald Trump today announced his "unfettered support" for "extraterrestrial abductions," and Read More
  • 1