Review: The Departed

UK Release: 6th October 2006

After a run of solid, adventurous, but ultimately underwhelming efforts (Gangs of New York, The Aviator), The Departed finds director Martin Scorsese returning to more familiar form with a superior, Boston-set cops-and-gangsters story, based on the Hong Kong crime drama Infernal Affairs.

Rookie cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is assigned to go deep undercover to help catch local Mafia godfather Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). Meanwhile, Costello has groomed Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) since puberty to be his spy on the force. The complex script (fluently adapted by William Monahan) rotates around these two moles, who orbit each other like twin suns for most of the movie, but only meet in the third act.

It all makes for extremely watchable entertainment. The leads are luminous (especially Nicholson, doing his best work in years here), but supporting players Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin and Ray Winstone all steal scenes with glee.

Radio Times rating:

****

UK cinema certificate 18
Running time 151mins

Review by Leslie Felperin

News: Jack Nicholson

The Departed‘s psychotic villain only has one project in the pipeline at the moment, buddy/road movie The Bucket List. Playing alongside Morgan Freeman, the two veteran actors play men dying of cancer who escape from hospital to go on a road trip, fulfilling all their fantasies before it’s too late.