Film Talk: Looking Back – Dangerous duplicity with The Departed

11 years since good ole’ Marty had dipped his toe in the gangster pool with 1995’s Casino, the world was hungry for the return of the prophet to what he did best. Little did they know their prayers would soon be answered – and with one of his most sublime efforts to date.

Comprising an all-star cast including Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson, 2006’s The Departed tells a tale of the deceit, double-play and manipulation at the heart of a violent war between the Massachusetts State Police and South Boston’s dominant organised crime ring.

The plot follows the intertwining stories of Billy Costigan (DiCaprio) – a rookie but intelligent cop with historic family links to the city’s underworld – and Colin Sullivan (Damon) – a bright but cocky detective who at a young age found favour with local mob boss Frank Costello (Nicholson).

Due to his family connections, Costigan is selected by State Police Captain Oliver Queenan (Martin Sheen) to infiltrate and inform on Costello’s organisation, while Sullivan – having been groomed by Costello – uses his position in the force to keep his ‘dad’ informed of all police activities against him.

As Costigan worms his way deeper into Costello’s gang and Sullivan’s masquerade as an earnest officer leads to the rise of his career, each man is soon set on the tail of the other, with the cops pushing to find the identity of Costello’s police mole, and the mob boss himself bent on uncovering the rat in his crew.

As the two pursue each other, fresh deceptions emerge, the stakes are raised, and blood is spilt in a game of duplicity where no one is what they seem.

As with most of Scorsese’s masterpieces, The Departed achieves perfection through its supporting elements.

With a diverse and emotive soundtrack featuring songs by The Rolling Stones and Dropkick Murphys (tick and tick), the music of the film sets much of its temperament, and blends with its sharp action and slick dialogue to allow it to simultaneously reflect violence, romance, horror and humour.

Performances from supporting actors including Ray Winstone and an absolutely sensational Mark Wahlberg help give life to this gangster’s paradise, populating it with background antagonists with plenty of depth.

Meanwhile, Vera Farmiga shines as the love interest tying the world of our two key protagonists together even further, and giving us insight into the true level of their torment.

As would only be expected, Nicholson excels throughout as psychotic mob boss Costello, and reminds us that there simply is no other contender for the crown of Hollywood’s ‘Archduke of Sinister’.

Both DiCaprio and Damon give stand-out and layered performances that have the viewer questioning their own morality as well as guessing constantly as to which of them truly is one step ahead.

While the purists will rightly look to Goodfellas as Scorsese’s finest crime-drama symphony, for me The Departed is only a hair’s breadth from the overall magic of Marty’s mightiest calling card.

One of many fantastic collaborations between directorial powerhouse Scorsese and consummate leading man DiCaprio, The Departed stands as one of the finest flicks of the noughties, and the deserved winner of four Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director.