There was a time when the sight of these two guys in a film together would have made me want to vomit spectacularly and that was after I had sat through the pains of Titanic. Once we have got past that and allowed time to give us a second chance we can appreciate that DiCaprio is actually a very good actor, did not deserve the dip in his career that he received after being cast as the pretty guy in terrible films. Now we can appreciate his talent properly.
The Departed has a similar feel to 'Donnie Brasco' but neither DiCaprio or Damon really have a Depp feel to them. Undercover work has been done so many times in films so what makes this film different? I guess it's the way that's played. Two cops, both moles, unsure of who each other are and struggling to know how to deal with the situation properly. There's a plot outside of gangster mobs and the characters have back stories, making them more human and more interesting as the film goes on. The way that they play the story is that only two people know about Costigan (DiCaprio) and that is perfect because his cover is deep and very well thought out. On the other hand, it was obvious to me instantly that Damon would be the leak and not just because we are the audience and we get told these things. Making phone calls to apparent parents after receiving news of an important mission seems weird. If I had to make a call to cancel plans I would think about how I was going to have that conversation instead of instantly calling my parents. Everything just seemed fake to me and that was disappointing.
Supporting Actors were phenomenal. Jack Nicholson was wonderful, very believable and his performance was clearly challenging De Niro for the crown and status of gangster king. If it was my vote then he would have just stolen the crown. Quantity does not win over quality- one quality performance is all that it needs and this performance matches if not tops any similar performance I have seen from De Niro. Simply Superb.
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