by Rianne Hill Soriano

Created on: June 13, 2010

Director Martin Scorcese reworks a remarkably intelligent gangster story in The Departed.

Based on the popular Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs about a gang member infiltrating the police force while a new police officer infiltrates the gang, this Hollywood version pulses with energy, strong dialogues and superb performances. The brilliantly written narrative is both grittingly relaxed and violently intelligent.

Reinventing the genre with a uniquely American saga representing various issues of the society, The Departed offers a well-paced story with a stellar cast that makes a classic out of the expansive level of grace, action and tragedy it exposes. Magnificently directed,

Scorsese's relaxed energy infuses the film with wits and excitement in every frame. It imparts coherence and conviction to a narrative that could have easily dwindled into a montage of action and chase scenes losing focus along the way. Indeed, the clever premise of this opus ends up quite bleak and yet very validating.

The commendable ensemble is toplined by Jack Nicholson as the powerful Irish mafia leader Frank Costello, Leonardo DiCaprio as the young undercover cop Billy Costigan, and Matt Damon as the young mafia member rising within the prestigious ranks of the city's police force Collin Sullivan. Mark Wahlberg also stars as the nastily straight cop figure Dignam. Martin Sheen portrays a supporting role as a police force head Oliver Queenan. Vera Farmiga who stars as Madolyn, a clinical psychologist primarily dealing with cops, becomes an effective intersection in the lives of the two spies.

DiCaprio brings such a level of intensity and maturity. The very core of his character becomes very evident with his acting. Meanwhile, Damon attacks his character differently. Compared to DiCaprio dealing with internal fissures and physical manifestations of his corruption being countered by medications, Damon doesn't let the audience get inside his character. Instead, being trained to become who he is, he effectively buries his emotions in a place of anonymity and numbness. Nicholson's strength exudes a validating aura that yields to his partly demented caricature character. Wahlberg is nasty and coarse as Dignam - and he brings out depth and adds dimension to the story.

Sheen's Queenan offsets the corrosiveness of the character of his immediate subordinate Dignam and he effectively contributes to the gray areas of the characters. Winstone as the emotionless killer and Alec Baldwin as the crime

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