‘The Departed’, this is how a remake is made !.
Tomorrow it will be a fair year that in these pages I spoke of ‘Dirty Game’, known internationally as ‘Infernal Affairs’, and the excellent material that Scorsese had in hand to make a new version giving it his peculiar style, the one that gossips say he has lost in his latest films. Those same evil tongues insist on affirming that Scorsese does not know this film, which not only seems to me a sovereign stupidity, but also is of null credibility given the famous admiration that the director feels for Asian cinematographies. Anyway, a year after that review I made, I have the opportunity to talk about ‘The Departed’ that today opens in our country together with the latest film by Woody Allen, to which he scores a goal for the entire squad. And it is not a question of comparing them as directors. I just think ‘The Departed’ It is a much better movie than ‘Scoop’ and will be the queen of the box office this week. Because the truth is that we have the best author of films like ‘Taxi Driver’ or ‘Toro Salvaje’ back, giving a real lesson in Cinema and how to make a remake in conditions without fear in the least its comparison with the original, among other things because it far exceeds it.
‘The Departed’ as its ridiculous title in Spanish indicates (are they never going to learn?), it is about a police officer who infiltrated the Boston mafia, and a member of the said mafia infiltrated the city’s police force. Imagine the rest: loyalty, friendship, loneliness, betrayal, etc, all through the wild prism of Martin Scorsese.
Because if there is one word that defines this movie, that is wild. Two and a half hours of accurate storytelling without a slowdown, something Mr. Scorsese knows all too well. Some overwhelming dialogues, full of dirt and bad-sounding words (“” is the one that is most pronounced) but not said gratuitously. A gallery of fascinating characters. A concise script without any cracks. And more, much more, in one of the best thrillers of recent years.
Anyone who knows enough about Scorsese’s cinema already knows what I’m talking about. The montage, absolutely exceptional, gives the film a rhythm that is rarely seen. Let’s bear in mind that we are talking about a movie that lasts more than two and a half hours and boredom does not appear even by recommendation, it does not dare. Scorsese does not give the viewer the slightest respite, who is trapped in the story from the first frame, advances with an incredible crescendo until he reaches a final part that already belongs in its own right to the annals of Film History due to its hardness. An unexpected and anthological closing full of surprises.
For the occasion, the veteran director has brought a group of actors who are all in a true state of grace, that is, directed. Leonardo DiCaprio, a great actor who has already become Scorsese’s right eye with whom he still has more projects pending, is sensational as the policeman emotionally tortured for being infiltrated and not withstanding the pressure. Matt Damon is his antagonist, and the truth is that it is surprising to see Damon play a villain role, but he does it wonderfully. Let’s see if his bad side explodes more. Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin seem so revitalized coming out in this movie. Both play secondary characters but full of strength. Jack Nicholson plays one of his best roles as the boss of the mafia that the police want to catch, an unscrupulous and unprincipled man who at the hands of Nicholson acquires a unique dimension. Mark Walhberg is extremely surprising as one of DiCaprio’s superiors. This limited actor is funny and you can tell he’s had a great time.
The only female character is played by the rising Vera Farmiga, who we recently saw in ‘The Trial of Crime’. Actress with a beautiful and morbid face is correct in the role, holding up the guy very well in front of his excellent co-stars. By the way, this actress is going to specialize in certain types of scenes. Those of you who have seen the two films already know what I mean. Hopefully Farmiga is more lavish and makes no mistake choosing projects.
Scorsese has been right on so many things. One of them is that being a remake, it has managed to create a film with its own universe while paying tribute to the Hong Kong film in two very intelligent ways, one is by creating a sequence similar to the original, although obviously changing the treatment. And the other is by introducing a little joke, if you can call it that, in the plot, with certain Asian characters and a certain thing that Nicholson drops at them. There will be those who see this as a joke. Obviously there are people who do not have a sense of humor. On the other hand Scorsese shows without any kind of stupor bloody dialogues about the Catholic Church, something that is very surprising coming from him. The two moments in which the Institution is attacked does not leave a puppet with a head. But the good thing about it is that in the film there is not a single word or line of dialogue left over or missing. Everything is impressively well measured and recited and coming to mind (suck that one, Tarantino).
Scorsese will most likely be among the finalists for the Oscars in the next edition. and it is also probable that he will be “faced” again with Eastwood, of whom the critics speak absolute wonders of his latest work. If Tito Clint’s film meets expectations, we will be facing a much more exciting duel than that of ‘Million dollar Baby’ Y ‘The Aviator’. For now, the battle at the box office is already won and with a landslide. We are talking about one of Scorsese’s biggest commercial successes. It was about time the public backed him up like that.
A masterful film that shows who is one of the best storytellers of the last 30 years. Don’t even think about letting her escape. It will catch you from start to finish. It seems that the last two months of the year we have recovered the quality with which we started 2006, and there are still titles expected to be released. Damn, but how Great is the Cinema with movies like this one.
