Tuesday, October 17, 2006

The only thing missing were cameos by Willard and Ben: "The Departed"

Big day Sunday. I actually went to a movie. Yeah, in a theater and everything. When did they stop showing newsreels before the main attraction?

I kid, but seriously, it had been a while, and that bugged me, what with the above claims of being a movie fan and all. "Um, yeah, Jeff ... a recap of 'Elektra' doesn't exactly call to mind Pauline Kael, if you know what I'm saying." I know, I know. Fortunately, when My Eternal Beloved took a wee bit ill this weekend, I managed to steal away to see the latest critically-acclaimed Scorsese movie. You know, "Elektra 2: Elektra Boogaloo."

Oh, OK ... it was "The Departed." Our story -- pilfered from the Japanese movie "Infernal Affairs," which has been in my Netflix queue for a while, just so you know -- follows rival rats in the middle of a police department's pursuit of a gangster. Leonardo DiCaprio (from the TV show "Growing Pains") is a Massachusetts State Police officer who inflitrates the mob led by Jack Nicholson ("Man Trouble"). Meanwhile, Matt Damon ("EuroTrip") is rising star in the state police, but also Jackie's boy from way back. Riding herd on different sets of officers are Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg and Alec Baldwin.

Some cast, huh? Throw in Scorsese, and the expectations that we'll get some great acting, rich color and gut-wrenching tension are pretty high. Will Gilbert Grape's brother be exposed as a pig/rat? Will the Talented Mr. Ripley have his cover blown as well? Will the two of them end up in a threesome with the woman shrink they're both seeing/screwing? Will everyone keep their Boston accents the whole two-and-a-half hours? Ooooh, the suspense.

Let's get the most important thing out of the way: This isn't Scorsese's best movie. Saw some blip about that on IMDB and chuckled. Yeah, "GoodFellas," "Taxi Driver," "Mean Streets" ... those sucked. (And don't get me started on "After Hours," which is hee-larious.) But it's definitely worth seeing for the story and the cast.

The story ... come on, doesn't it sound great? Two cat-and-mouse games going on, with a de facto race to see who gets busted first? I just moved "Infernal Affairs" to the top of my queue so I can do a comparison, but I just think this is a cool-yet-basic plot with all sorts of potential, which Scorsese handles well.

The cast ... seriously, take another look. First, this is the first time Scorsese and Nicholson have worked together. So that's something right there. Then you get Damon and Wahlberg -- the rival Bah-ston guys -- mixing it up with DiCaprio, who, say what you will, throws himself into a project. I never thought I'd see that skinny kid from "Titanic" look big compared with other actors, but he's plenty strapping next to the two Beantowners. (Yes, I know Marky Mark is a midget. But Leo was a reed in the big boat flick, remember?)

While the movie drags a bit at 150 minutes or so -- the romance stuff doesn't sing with a bland unknown as the love interest, and Scorsese indulges in some weird, unnecessary scenes with Nicholson -- there's enough gripping stuff to keep you focused. Yes, things get shaky at the end; this may not make sense, but the climax was both messy and neat at the same time. But that doesn't undo the efforts by the main players and the supporting guys, and really ... like anything could be as bloody as "The Age of Innocence." I still get nightmares.

3 Comments:

At 10:07 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Haven't seen this, but caught "Infernal Affairs" not long ago. Not too bad once you get past the, uh, slightly far-fetched premise. But that title! Sounds like something starring Leslie Nielsen or Steve Guttenberg.

 
At 5:36 PM, Blogger Jefferson said...

No question. Biggest hurdle by far in watching this. Ranks up there with "Disorganized Crime," which -- with the immortal Corbin Bernsen -- is most definitely not an edgy Japanese action flick.

("Disorderlies," starring the Fat Boys, however ... four stars.)

 
At 2:29 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Saw this last night. Marky Mark and Alec Baldwin steal the movie. Alec has a habit of that lately. God I love the Patriot Act.

 

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