Perhaps no director has spent more time examining the seedy underbelly of modern American culture than Martin Scorsese (“Goodfellas,” “Gangs of New York”), and his newest effort, “The Departed,” is no exception. Scorsese brings his trademark no-holds-barred grit and gloom to a cat-and-mouse game between two young men–one a cop and the other a crook –in a movie that attempts to have all of the pathos and moral impact of a Greek tragedy, but with unsatisfying results.
Set in Boston, the movie follows the career of Irish mafia boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson), who has strategically placed one of the best and brightest from the Massachusetts Police Academy, detective Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), within the Boston state police department to work as a mole for his organization. However, the state police have their own mole –Billy Costigian (Leonardo Di Caprio)–infiltrate Costello’s syndicate so they can arrest Costello. Both men are wracked with guilt as they are sucked deeper into Costello’s web of deceit and violence and as they grow closer and closer to discovering each other’s identities.
For anyone expecting this thriller to be of the level of “Raging Bull,” “The Departed” is not much more than a mediocre rehash of much of Scorsese’s previous work. There are, to be sure, some stellar moments in the film, but its weaknesses overpower those moments of brilliance. Di Caprio’s performance as the troubled Costigian is amazing, but Nicholson chews the scenery like he’s playing The Joker in another Batman sequel, while Damon is just plain unconvincing as the two-faced Sullivan. And then there’s the completely convoluted love triangle-with-a-shrink storyline that is almost impossible to get past.
What troubles me most when I watch a Scorsese film, including this one, is that I always come away with a nagging feeling that Scorsese is not a big believer that grace, mercy, and redemption truly exist in our society. For Scorsese’s characters, it always seems as if these spiritual ideals are only abstract concepts that never become flesh-and-bone reality. And while I have heard some critics laud the final seconds of “The Departed” as Scorsese’s subtle nod to the power of light overcoming the darkness in a cruel world, I find that a bit of a stretch.
More importantly, the hopelessness of “The Departed” makes me wonder even more about the fate of Scorsese’s current project–a film adaptation of “Silence,” a book about Japanese martyrs, which all of my Catholic friends insist I should read.
posted October 10, 2006 at 6:36 am
Seeing Red: A Journey Through the Moral Divide a film by Gerry Corneau and Leah Belsky This month, the new documentary Seeing Red: A Journey Through the Moral Divide is being released in homes, schools and churches, across the US. (www.seeingredthemovie.com) On September 11th a preview screening was held in Boston, with the official theatrical world premiere scheduled for October 14th at the Dixie Film Festival in Atlanta, Georgia. The film tells the story of three Americans and a Brit who, disillusioned after the 2004 elections, set out to investigate the power of evangelical Christianity in American political life. From megachurches in Texas, to Christian music festivals in New Hampshire, to MTV protests in New York, they discover that the fanaticism with which mainstream media characterizes Christian America shows only one side of a diverse and fascinating story. Shot in red and blue states across America, “Seeing Red chronicles the many and varied answers to the questions: is America truly divided by morality, and why are the democrats failing to connect with religious Americans?Experts, scholars, and authors unravel the mystery even further. Featured in the film are Alan Wolfe, a leading scholar on religion and politics in the US, David Domke a communications expert who presents a compelling case for the conflation of God and war leading up to the conflict in Iraq, and George Lakoff, a leading scholar on how Americans shape, define, and apply morality. The making of the film is also a story in itself. The movie was made by two Jews, a Hindu, and a searching Christian. In the midst of the 60+ interviews, 90 hours of shooting and 80,000 miles of travel- squeezed into rental cars and rustic motels, the team spends endless time speaking about their own faith. Two months in to the project, Gerry , the co-producer/director was born again. In partnership individuals and with national political and religious organizations, Seeing Red will continue to launch pre-election screenings house party style, in an effort better understanding of religious Americans and their diverse political orientations. Recent Pew Forum statistics show that in the past year, the percentage of Americans who think either Democrats or Republicans are friendly to religion as fallen from 29% to 26% (Democrats) and 55% to 47% (Republicans). Screenings will be facilitated through the breakthrough distribution website. (www.seeingredthemovie.com). The site allows individuals and groups to purchase DVDs and organize screenings, using technology created by Brave New Theatres- a new progressive film screening forum started by Robert Greenwald and Jim Gilliam.In addition to house party screenings, the film will appear in festivals throughout North America till early next summer, when a nationwide network broadcast is anticipated. Overall, Seeing Red presents a fresh and balanced picture on a topic that will only grow more heated as the November election campaigns continue.
posted October 13, 2006 at 10:09 pm
Thanks for this interesting post! I didn’t expect a review of “The Departed” here on beliefnet…*g*. I haven’t seen the movie yet, because I’m in Germany and here it comes out only in December. But so far I’ve only read positive reviews. This is actually the first critical one. Since I’m a laaarge Leonardo DiCaprio fan for years, I’m glad you appreciated Leo’s performance. I know, he always gives his best as an actor. I’m looking forward to watching the movie…YIKES! Lots of greetings! Elli