The Departed

Rarely do I see a movie that shouts THIS IS THE BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR. But I think I just saw it.

True, The Departed came out last year (and I would have seen it then, but when you have a two year old, you are just happy to not see Disney films all the time) and is easily the best movie of last year.

I know, I'm a bit biased. Director Martin Scorsese is one of my favorite directors of all time. He could pretty much make pinholes in a piece of construction paper and I would love it.

Far from being pinholes in construction paper, The Departed is one of those films that will be meticulously deconstructed and reconstructed in film schools decades from now. One of the biggest things that I was fascinated with was that with all the "A" list talent (DiCaprio, Damon, Whalberg, Sheen, Nicholson etc.) that it would be a huge attempt by everyone to outdo each other. It wasn't. I guess that's the power of Scorsese. He makes even the biggest star seem "normal" somehow.

The story is mob centered (of course). This one happens to be more about the modern day Irish mob than about the traditional Italian variety. It is shot beautifully and really captures the pace and the story well. The writing is superb and really makes Jack Nicholson seem human (just kidding).

There is a surprising twist at the end, that I saw coming a mile away, but with the films 2 hour and 30 minute run time, I almost forgot about it.

On first viewing (that's right I BOUGHT this one) there didn't seem to be much I hated about The Departed. Original works like this are missing so much from Hollywood (this story being adapted from the Japanese masterpiece "Internal Affairs". Hopefully this film inspires a whole new generation of film makers to turn away from comic book movies and readily available source material (Harry Potter) and try something bold.

Give Scorsese the Oscar PLEASE.