I was back out to the movies again this afternoon, to catch up and see Martin Scorsese's The Departed. I'm giving this movie a solid endorsement, but with a few minor "asterisks."Generally speaking, the movies I like best are ones that evoke some sort of strong emotional reaction in me -- big laughs, great sadness, whatever. Or, sometimes when that's not quite happening, I'll give a movie high marks if it really gets me thinking (as did The Prestige). The bottom line is, I don't really like to be a "passive observer" when I'm watching a movie. I like to get caught up in it somehow.
The Departed didn't really do that for me. It wasn't an emotional ride, and it wasn't really thought-provoking in a way that stayed with me after leaving the theater. Nevertheless, it was a very well made movie, on every level.
The writing was strong. The dialogue was particularly great, with lots of perfect lines I could see becoming "famous quotables."
The acting was good. I didn't expect to believe Leonardo DiCaprio as much of a "badass," but he sold it. Matt Damon was equally good. Mark Wahlberg made a real character out of a relatively smaller role, as did Martin Sheen. And Jack Nicholson and Alec Baldwin -- well, I'm not sure they ever really "act" except as slight shadings of themselves, but they're fun to watch, and both clearly having fun in this movie.
The directing and editing were also strong. It was a two-and-a-half hour movie, but it never dragged. You were pulled along through the story, with a skillful mix of moments crafted for artistic "showiness" and moments of "getting out of the way" at the appropriate times.
I say all these good things, and bear in mind that I don't normally go for "gangster" films. But then, this one almost plays more like a spy caper than a crime drama, with its tangled web of espionage and counter-espionage.
Yes despite all that, I found this a film that I didn't "feel" deep down was great. It was more of a movie where I sat at an intellectual distance and said (in a snooty accent), "oh yes, that was very good indeed."
I give it an A-, but it's not top 100 material.
4 comments:
You, sir, are a fool.
This movie kicked the Prestige's ass. Then busted a bar glass over it's head.
I have never -and I will probably never again- see a movie that is so well done as the Departed.
I had a feeling, after reading your review of The Departed on your blog, that you might take exception to mine. :-)
I applaud your colorful imagery, and respect your opinion. Even though I think you're crazy.
(Such fightin' words over a the difference between an "A+" or "A" movie and an "A-" movie. Fun! :-) )
To throw my two cents in, I liked Departed over The Prestige as well.
Departed had amazing dialogue, while The Prestige had amazing direction. The storytelling and acting in both was very well done. I feel like they both suffered from story problems at the end - Departed in how it had to set up the final moments of each character (I swear I was watching the end to a mediocre performance of Hamlet) and The Prestige in handling its big reveals (and in my gut, I just didn't like one of the big reveals). The difference was, I could deal with the ending problems of Departed and still enjoyed it quite a bit, while the ending problems of The Prestige left me feeling unsettled, while still entertained.
Sticking to Evan's letter-grade system, I think Departed gets and A- while The Prestige gets a B.
It's actually a very interesting point you raise about the endings, David. Because I *much* preferred the ending of The Prestige over The Departed.
Not only did the ending of The Departed seem to be a bit drawn out as it addressed all the fates of the characters (though I must say, the scene coming off the elevator was pretty great, even if it was cribbed from Hamlet -- hey, steal from the best), but I thought they actually fumbled the ball on one of the characters. [Some spoiler territory coming up here, if you're planning to see the movie!] Mark Wahlberg's character just plain vanished for the back half of the movie. And it didn't make sense that a character like that would just walk away. So I spent the last half hour going, "where's Mark Wahlberg to come in and clean this mess up?" I felt the presence of artifice too greatly (in a movie that had otherwise been pretty transparent in this regard), contriving to make the character being absent for no reason just to set up the ending.
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