mikeandtim

Saw "The Departed" last night....

Overall, it is a good movie. I had heard all of these superlatives from reviewers going in, so I was expecting something in the upper stratosphere of movie making. While it is good, it leaves something to be desired.

First- the movie is 2:30 long. Which is great. I, andTim, prefer longer movies. For the most part longer movies generally equate to more complete storytelling, better character development, and better plot development. It is probably rare that someone has to go back and re-shoot footage to make their movie long enough, as is evident by the "Deleted Scenes" feature on most DVD's.

The problem is this... there is still a lack of relationship development between characters. Namely, DiCaprio and the police psychologist. (Forgot the character's name... but she was a good casting choice). Also, what is Nicholson's motivation? Power? Wealth? He seems to have reached the apex of both in his world. What did he have left to prove? Why did his guys follow him like they did? Riches? Power? Fear? It is never really explained.

There is definitely plenty of "good" violence and language in the movie... but I'll tell you this much... I am getting sick of the New England/New York bias in movie-making. Sure, they have cute "Southy" accents and attitudes, but is this the sole creative place by which someone can write an artistically valuable gangster movie? Not that the mob is prevalent in Texas, but c'mon. Those of us who do not live on the east coast or the west coast deserve representation outside of football movies. I started to resent the somewhat pretentious mood of this style of filmmaking about 3/4 of the way through. I just OD'd on the contrived writing of witty jokes and "I'm a badass with this line" and the responding "Oh, you think you're a badass? I've got a more badass line than you could ever consider!" It's like a battle for gangsta movie line deepthinking, and I no longer buy it.

DiCaprio, Damon, Nicholson, and Mark Wahlberg give great performances in this movie. They are some of the best actors of our generation. And I really never thought I would say that about the former "Marky Mark". Well- go enjoy. I will put down a diatribe on the stupidity of liberalism later. For my inspiration go read the essay posted on Moby.com today.

posted by mikeandtim @ 6:51:00 AM