Scorsece Schools Em All

"The Departed" is the cinematic equivalent of a nice, perfectly cooked steak, in a year when you've been eating nothing but fast food hamburgers. It's meaty and satisfying, and it makes you wonder why you've been wasting your time on hamburgers for so long. This is a movie that brings the pain, and brings it hard.

I'm going to make this entry short and sweet. Martin Scorsece's "The Departed" rocks harder than any other movie released this year. It's a joy to see Marty firing on all cylinders again, after the messy and unfocused "Gangs of New York" and the well made yet un-involving "The Aviator." Scorsece revisits the world that he has defined and redefined cinematically many times over the years- the gangster picture- and breathes new life into it again. I can't overstate how much I love this movie- if you are a true fan of movies, this is the film you've been waiting for all year.

A remake of the equally awesome yet more slick and action driven Hong Kong film "Infernal Affairs," "The Departed" stars Leonardo DiCaprio plays Billy Costigan, a cop working deep undercover with Boston's most notorious criminal, Frank Costello (a out of his mind Jack Nicholson.) On the other side of the law, Matt Damon plays Colin Sullivan, a Costello loyalist who is a mole within the state Police Special Investigation Unit- the very unit who hired Costigan. The two men enter into a desperate cat and mouse game, trying to ferret each other’s identities out in order to survive. That's all I'm gonna say about the plot- if you have not seen it yet, I don't want to ruin any of the twists along the way. And by the way, if you haven't seen it yet, what the hell are you doing reading this for? See the damned movie already.

Every performance is right on. DiCaprio has finally come into his own, playing Billy as a paranoid and sometimes violent badass. Yes, folks, Leonardo DiCaprio kicks some serious ass in this movie. The guy from "Titanic." The retarded kid from "What's Eating Gilbert Grape." The cousin from "Growing Pains." That guy. After seeing this movie, you'll never bring up the fact that he seemed like a sissy in any of those roles, because you'll believe that he could probably kick your ass after you watch him brutally beat up a couple of Italian gangsters in a liquor store, or smash a glass across a guy's head for making fun of him for drinking cranberry juice in a bar. Matt Damon is equally impressive, playing Colin as with icy intelligence, methodically working his way up within the police force even as he helps the crime boss his bosses are obsessed with catching.

As for that elusive crime boss- Nicholson's Costello is an insane, off the rails beast of a performance. Nicholson plays Costello huge, acting all the way to the edge of madness but never falling off. Jack clearly relishes his role, adding bizarre character touches that will make the performance one that is hard to forget. Nicholson's performance is so out there, it's as if it came from Mars. He eats a bug, plays around with a severed hand while talking about John Lennon, tosses cocaine around his bedroom with opera music playing, and even wields a dildo to scare one of the main characters. It's a thoroughly unhinged, deranged, scary, hilarious performance that will surely be remembered when Oscar nominations come out.

The rest of the cast is right on the money as well. Alec Baldwin and Mark Wahlberg are hilarious as a tough talking cops looking to finally catch Costello and prove they have the biggest dick in the room at the same time. Ray Winstone is quietly intimidating as Costello's second in command, and Vera Farmiga is impressive as a police psychologist with connections to both Billy and Colin, holding her own as the only major female role in a movie dripping with testosterone. Screenwriter William Monahan should be nominated for an Oscar for his brilliant screenplay, which weaves this complex tale tightly, while providing the brilliant cast with some of the best dialogue to come out of a Hollywood movie in a long time.

But Scorsece is the real star here. His camera dips and glides, his music choices are impeccable and witty as always, his editing choices (with longtime cutter Thelma Schoonmaker) are brilliant, and all his directorial choices add up, creating a movie that absolutely pulses with energy. "The Departed" is paced like a locomotive, never feeling nearly as long as it's two and a half hour running time, moving from moments of laugh out loud comedy to shocking and horrific violence without skipping a beat. This movie feels like the effortless work of a true master who is cutting loose and having fun with the material. "The Departed" is a rollercoaster in the truest sense of the word, taking you for a ride that will leave you exhausted and exhilarated. This is the type of movie that reminds you why you love the art form, restoring your faith in the very power of movies. It will kick you ass and leave you gasping for more. This is by far the best, most exciting, most kinetic, and most flat out entertaining movie so far this year. Scorsece has raised the bar for this year's movies, and by letting go of loftier ambitions, by making a such pure piece of pop entertainment instead of grasping for Oscars, he might just find himself walking away with a statue at the Kodak Theatre early next year afterall.