Thursday, March 08, 2007

4. The Departed

Okay, first of all, I screwed up the ranking of the top 10. So everything gets bumped down, and it now becomes a top 11.

Let me start and finish with a bit of blasphemy and say that I've never enjoyed a Martin Scorsese movie as much as The Departed. Credit Scorsese for emboldening -- not overpowering -- William Monahan's gorgeous screenplay and the actors for taking it and running like hell with it.

"I'm gonna go have a smoke right now. You want a smoke? You don't smoke, do ya, right? What are ya, one of those fitness freaks, huh? Go fuck yourself."

7 comments:

is that so wrong? said...

I would say perhaps my favorite moment of this film is when Jack Nicholson throws an entire handful of cocaine on the hooker he took home. He plays it so straight and with so much vitriol, I gotta hand it to the guy.... he plays evil damn well.

J.J. said...

On a second viewing, the subtleties of Jack's energetic performance really shine through. The guy he plays is an absolute madman, having rotted from the inside for years. One of my favorite shots of the movie is when he and his "wife" are cast completely in red light. Director and actor work very well together to create this mandarin of decadent, corrupting power. Villainous, yes, but a villain we've never really seen before.

Jeanette said...

After I saw The Departed in the theater...I sat in my seat through the credits, and yelled out loud, "OH MY GOD."

J.J. said...

I do that every time I finish up on the toilet.

Jeanette said...

Really? Including the credits part? There are credits when you take a shit? Wow, a lot must go into it. Wouldn't want to be the best boy grip on THAT production.

J.J. said...

The special thanks list is voluminous.

Russell said...

The second time I watched The Departed I was actually disappointed. I feel like there is some fat that could have been trimmed in the editing room and Jack Nicholson really disappointed me. The last 15 minutes were ridiculous too.