The Departed was very different than most of the films I’ve watched recently. The mise-en-scene was set tastefully; Boston, hard accents, mid-lighting, no sultry anything, no indulgence of anything besides blood, war and power. The clips in the beginning set a trend throughout the entire movie; Brutality, in words, in actions and in relationships. Along with the auditory elements, the actors in this film executed the storyline perfectly and held firmly to their role.
From the very beginning we see Frank Costello, played by Jack Nicholson, the dark overcast character teaching boys how to be the mobster men he wants them to be. Mark Walhberg plays the intimidating psyche Sgt. Dignam. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Billy, the good cop, and Matt Damon plays the deceitful, very well-guided Sgt. Sullivan. All of these characters placed together create such a nail-biter that it’s hard not to watch repeatedly. The story-line is very simple, a young boy grows up in a gang and attempts to use his skills to put his "gang-father" at the top, the additional characters turn out to be anything but additions. They make the movie.
From the very beginning we see Frank Costello, played by Jack Nicholson, the dark overcast character teaching boys how to be the mobster men he wants them to be. Mark Walhberg plays the intimidating psyche Sgt. Dignam. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Billy, the good cop, and Matt Damon plays the deceitful, very well-guided Sgt. Sullivan. All of these characters placed together create such a nail-biter that it’s hard not to watch repeatedly. The story-line is very simple, a young boy grows up in a gang and attempts to use his skills to put his "gang-father" at the top, the additional characters turn out to be anything but additions. They make the movie.
In order to understand what actors process was to do such decent acting I did some research. Matt Damon, who also happens to be from Boston, decided to take his understanding of the character a step further by actually seeking out cops. “Damon spent a lot of time with police officers and even went along on the bust of a crack house. Damon believes that being able to soak that in was instrumental in capturing this character. “”Tom Duffy was a huge resource for us and for me. Leo got connected to a bunch of people who were around Whitey Bulger, but Duff was able to get me around a bunch of police and it was really fascinating.”(Murray) This not only shows how dedicated he was, but how much of an impact his research made on his acting while filming. He was able to hold his characters motifs throughout the film, he stood strong, acted composed but showed vulnerability, his character was the most complex but he seemed so natural.
Jack Nicholson, who plays the mob boss Costello, also plays in a sadistic movie, The Shining in which Nicholson was edgy and quite understated. I think it’s entertaining to know that he can play somewhat of the same role, in a different film. In The Departed, I could look at him and tell that the edginess and uneasiness I felt watching him in The Shining, was still present. After doing some research I found that his character in The Departed was based off of an actual mobster, Whitey Bulgar.
In one scene, Nicholson has to meet Damon in a dark theatre where he pulls a stunt that didn’t seem like it was something the character would do, but he pulled it off perfectly. “So Jack really brought this incredible new element, this new layer to that character - kind of obscene. No, really, but I mean in a way that felt authentic. It felt like these guys really would sublimate sex into violence and violence into sex.”(Murray) Even Matt Damon, noticed how authentic Nicholson was able to be while playing a very different character. The character’s motif was set, the slick back hair, baggy eyes, walk with a slight lean. He had power, walked with no shame, no fear, but he was intelligent.
Along with the panning throughout the movie there were a lot of musical elements that enhanced the acting. One of the songs, are called “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” by Dropkick Murphys. In the scene where the hard rock/Irish band was playing, the music was cut and we see Nicolson in character screaming through the phone. This was not the first time in the film where they used music the enhance the film. In another scene, where DiCaprio is finally coming home and the same music plays. This particular song was used often throughout the film and it works, perfectly.
The execution of the storyline is probably in part due to how well the actual script is written, but without the well-placed music throughout the film and certain ways to bring in a scene, great and devoted actors, it wouldn’t have been right.
Author: Jalisa Smith
Citations:
Jack Nicholson, who plays the mob boss Costello, also plays in a sadistic movie, The Shining in which Nicholson was edgy and quite understated. I think it’s entertaining to know that he can play somewhat of the same role, in a different film. In The Departed, I could look at him and tell that the edginess and uneasiness I felt watching him in The Shining, was still present. After doing some research I found that his character in The Departed was based off of an actual mobster, Whitey Bulgar.
In one scene, Nicholson has to meet Damon in a dark theatre where he pulls a stunt that didn’t seem like it was something the character would do, but he pulled it off perfectly. “So Jack really brought this incredible new element, this new layer to that character - kind of obscene. No, really, but I mean in a way that felt authentic. It felt like these guys really would sublimate sex into violence and violence into sex.”(Murray) Even Matt Damon, noticed how authentic Nicholson was able to be while playing a very different character. The character’s motif was set, the slick back hair, baggy eyes, walk with a slight lean. He had power, walked with no shame, no fear, but he was intelligent.
Along with the panning throughout the movie there were a lot of musical elements that enhanced the acting. One of the songs, are called “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” by Dropkick Murphys. In the scene where the hard rock/Irish band was playing, the music was cut and we see Nicolson in character screaming through the phone. This was not the first time in the film where they used music the enhance the film. In another scene, where DiCaprio is finally coming home and the same music plays. This particular song was used often throughout the film and it works, perfectly.
The execution of the storyline is probably in part due to how well the actual script is written, but without the well-placed music throughout the film and certain ways to bring in a scene, great and devoted actors, it wouldn’t have been right.
Author: Jalisa Smith
Citations:
- Murray, Rebecca. "Matt Damon Talks About The Departed." About. n. page. Web. 22 Mar. 2014. <http://movies.about.com/od/thedeparted/a/departedmd93006.htm>.
- Scorsese, Martin , dir. The Departed . Warner Bros,, 2006. Film. 22 Mar 2014. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0407887/>.