The Departed

Golden Globe winner Martin Scorsese's big, splashy, hyperkinetic, Oscar-nominated Hollywood adaptation of the Hong Kong action movie Infernal Affairs (relocated to Boston) is as enjoyable as his classic Mafia pictures, although without much going on beneath the surface. It's a mirror-image story about two cops, one (Matt Damon) who looks squeaky clean but is a corrupt mole working for a hysterical mob boss (Jack Nicholson) and the other (Leonardo DiCaprio) who goes undercover as one of the boss' men. The convoluted plot has each man trying to uncover the identity of the other, and (to enhance the perverse doppelganger nature of their relationship) falling for the same woman. DiCaprio and Damon play their respective characters with gusto, the former edgy and almost ferret-like, the latter smoothly aiming to move up the professional ladder but always needing to watch his back. And the scene-stealing Nicholson segues from the morbidly comic to the genuinely threatening with perfect pitch in a hammy but tasty performance. The supporting cast is notable as well, with Oscar nominee Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin, and Martin Sheen all at their best. The Departed isn't a perfect movie—like Infernal Affairs, it's an efficient rather than profound thriller—but it's loads of fun to watch. Highly recommended. [Note: Available in either widescreen or full screen versions, or a widescreen two-disc version, DVD extras include the 89-minute TCM Career Profile “Scorsese on Scorsese,” a 24-minute “Crossing Criminal Cultures” featurette on how Little Italy's darker elements influence Scorsese's work, the 21-minute featurette “Stranger Than Fiction: The True Story of Whitey Bulger, Southie, and The Departed,” 20 minutes of additional scenes with introductions by Scorsese (20 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for this fun Best Picture Oscar nominee.] (F. Swietek)