Yeah, but he still... called Anthony Anderson instead of Dignam.

Maybe Dignam was back into his real identity as Dirk Diggler?

I mean.... DIGnam, DIGgler... same person!

A

Awesome and amazing, to put things plain and simple. What an exhilarating ride, it never lets go, this is what the movies are all about, something big, bad, something that makes you jump out of your seat, something that makes you go wow. This is why I love film, when I get to see a movie like this.

Taking my first drink of Scorsece, I have to say that I love his style. Quick cuts, fast rhythm, violent fantastic-ness, he definitley lives up to the hype. I know zennier praised the cinematography here, and I have to full heartedly agree. The scene where Leo's hand is fucked with, Sheen falling from the building, the chinatown chase, the way Jack falls backwards when he dies with the still camera, the chinese meeting, the way the movie closes out, it is on fire in this movie.

Acting is amazing as an ensemble cast, there is no weak links among them. If anyone disappointed me in the slightest it was Nicholson actually, he was still great, but this is not one of his iconic performances and I don't think he deserves his 4th Oscar for this. He seemed a bit droozy in the role, always goofy and never ever frightening as a mob boss, that terror was missing from his character. Leo was my favorite and I think this is one of his best performances, I really felt his intensity here while quietly he was making you cheer for him, you could really see the fire in his eyes.

Mark Wahlberg was also bril, I'm a bit confused to where the hell he pulled this performance from... I've never seen Marky Mark anywhere near the type of acting he does here, it's not just that he's great, it's that he loses all of his normal mannerisms to be boy-ish, he plays a man in this role, something I've never seen him get near. I think Wahlberg deserves an Oscar nomination for this performance, and I think he might just get it.

Damon was also good, though I don't know where the best performance in the film comments are coming from. Everyone in the supporting cast from Sheen to Baldwin to Farmiga delivers as well, and about Farmiga's storyline, I do think it was needed in the film as it sets up the finale with the tapes and letters.

Now talking about that ending... wow. I mentioned before the final shots of the film, the way Scorsece executes that camera pan with Damon, with his use of the blood, I think it's one of the very best endings to a film that I've ever seen. It's on a Hitchcock level, simplistic filming, yet so so brilliant.

I was a little perplexed as well with why he didn't call Dirk Diggler. Maybe he thought he could have been corrupted. He Anderson from the academy. I thought the ending made sense though.

Well I don't think he knew Dingman's number, didn't know how to reach him, he was on a leave of absence. Maybe Anderson was the only one he could reach at the time.

Not to mention Dingman was a cop who didn't like him, maybe he was more trusting in Anderson as a friend. The point is that he did call Anderson, maybe it was a stupid decision, but he did it all the same.

Isn't it obvious.....

It was the only way the ending could work.

That did cross my mind.

Anyone wondered if...

[spoil]Vera Farmiga's baby was Matt Damon's or Leo's?[/spoil]

Yes, but the film doesn't establish a good sense of time to really tell.

A+

Most entertaining 2.5 hours I have ever had in a movie theater.

WOW

Finally saw it tonight!

The Departed

Theatre Capacity : 600 (90% full)

Trailers: A Good Year, The Prestige, Casino Royale.

WOW! What a fantastic film. My exoectations where sky high but it generally met them. Performances are top notch - especially the two leads and all the minor players. I think everyone just about covered all the great points of the film in this thread. I'd say its Scoreses best since Goodfellas (but not better).

Now as much as I love the film - I am no certain it can win best director but not best pic. Its just warped in places - much like Pulp Fiction.

Jack Nicholson was crazy. Probably a little over the top IMO, but so too was the film itself. Infact - I thought only Leo and Sheen were the only onese who didnt ham it up.

My one gripe would be that there was excessive profanity that just wasnt needed. I mean we all know Casino had 365 f_cks, i wonder how many this one had. Im all for swearing - but when every third word is a swear word - it becomes too try hard and silly.

Now to the SPOILERS.....

Yeah I thought the baby could be Leos.

Infact I bet Scorcese had to cut out a few scenes involving Vera's character. Im certain there must have been a scene where she gives Walberg the letter Leo had given her and possibly a scene where we find out who the father of her offspring would be.

As for the body falling off the roof - im just glad i viewed the trailer only once. Trailers often ruin the experience like some of you mentioned. Looks the same with Casino Royale.

Grade : A (need to see it again before i can bump it up to an A+)

BTW - this was the first time ive ever filled out a survey about the film afterwards!

[spoil]The only scene I hated in the movie was when Jack was having sex with the hooker and tossing cocaine everywhere. That did not seem like his character at all. That was a little too out there for me. Other than that, great movie. [/spoil]

Good film I give it a B.

Its a great comebacl for Leo. I thought the whole rat and good cop was great. Damon did a wonderfull job as did nickleson.

[spoil]I just wanted to ask you something about this. Ive read about the scene here - All i saw was a 20 sec implied sex scene where you see Jacks face and the hooker diving for the cocaine. Now im not sure if there is more and it was cut out or is that the same scene for everyone? [/spoil]

So banging whores and doing drugs doesnt seem like Jack's character? Ummm okay, I didnt realize Frank Costello was a saint.

I think it was part of his charcater definitely. Was the scene as simple as I mention above? I thought it would be more graphic actually.

It was pretty simple and short, I dont really understand the point of the scene really, it was just there. Im thinking it was cut quite a bit, it seemed edited.

Yeah It seemed very edited. Thats why I asked as I thought perhaps it was cut to get a tamer rating (but was seen in full in the US). Im sure the full scene will turn up on dvd

Nah, I live in the states, I saw the exact samething. See Frank watching oprah, whore whispers in his year, goes to another scene where he throws cocaine.

In one of the super early unedited reviews, like in June or something, I think the person mentioned a scene with Jack and the hookers, with one of them wearing a strap-on... reviewer seemed pretty disgusted by the randomness of it. I think some of that would've been in that scene before being cut, if I had to guess.

Yes - thats what i must have read - hence i thought it was censored. Yeah its a random scene that adds nothing to the film. Just like the excessive swearing.

That is the scene I am talking about. It doesn't fit with the movie because Costello seemed too controlled to be using his drugs. They never mentioned throughout the whole movie that he did drugs. They just stuck some random scene in the movie of Costello and some ugly girl having sex with a bucket of cocaine. How stupid is that. Costello never seemed like the type to get high on his own supply is all i'm saying.

I dont know. Perhaps with extended scenes Scorcese was trying to imply Frank's sterility or even impotence. Remember when .................SPOILER.................................... Damon's character degrades him about never being able to have his own kids. But I agree it seems out of place in the final cut.

A very good movie, but not great. There are way too many plot holes to be considered great.

Spoilers:

The first 20-30 minutes are utilized to establish how brilliant these characters are (Damon and DiCaprio). Then they make mistakes left and right throughout the last 30 minutes. Would Damon really leave the citizens letter out in the open on his desk? Would DiCaprio really meet Damon and not have a better backup plan? Sheen's character drops from the 6th or 5th floor of a building in the time it takes for Costello's men to make it to the street the survellience team can't make a positive id in that time? They initially let suspected cop killers leave? The body count gets too high by the end of the film (similiar to LA Confidential, it just becomes too implausible) and it leaves a bad after taste. The 2nd Costello mole who shots DiCaprio's character is too minor to be shocking, it is just there to suprise and all it does is call into question the other inconsistencies in the film.

Acting is outstanding on all fronts. Wahlberg was great as were Damon and DiCaprio. Is it just me or is Alec Baldwin the best American actor at this moment? He is just on a role since the Cooler in 2003, especially if you count his television work.

Scorsese's score is great from the moment the film starts, finally a movie gets "Gimme Shelter" right. I would have preferred if the soundtrack had used more songs from "Let It Bleed" and "Sticky Fingers". The swooping camera work enhances the movie and doesn't detract. I especially liked the scene where Damon's character (I think, could have been DiCaprio) enters the police headquarters. It is shot wide and I think there are two cuts to smalller perspectives to emphasize the character maneuvering the byzantine landscape.

The script was great in the big picture sense, I especially liked the background on DiCaprio's character. I also liked the lines of Baldwin and Wahlberg, although they were a bit over the top, they were too damn good to be a distraction. The only problem I had were the plot inconsistencies I listed above and a few others that I didn't bother to list. I don't know if the dildo scene was necessary for character development or building the story, but it was damn entertaining.



Was Damon's character gay? His problems sustaining an erection, his meeting Costello in a Porn theater, Ellerby's comment on having a wife (similiar to Ellerby's stating if his record was too impeccable, people suspected he was a mole), and his harping on "homos" in the first half of the film, lead me to believe perhaps he was.

Sorry this isn't much of a review, just random thoughts on the movie. B+

Dignam was on leave, I'm assuming he couldn't reach him, it's not that implausible that he wasn't able to then when he called Anderson asked him to have Dignam come too. I'm sure he wasn't expecting that scene to go down like it did.