The Departed vs Fargo

I cannot imagine that I will see a more exciting movie than The Departed this year. Not only is it Martin Scorsese’s best movie since Goodfellas; it’s one of his best, ever. And when we’re talking one of Martin Scorsese’s best movies, we’re talking one of the best movies, period. Besides Scorsese’s usual knack for pacing, retro soundtracks, and horrific, blood-spattered violence, The Departed also gives him a go at deeper human relationships, and he excels. Also, it’s funny as hell.

It’s going to be an uphill battle, I’m afraid, in convincing you that it really is as good as I think, and that I’m not just hopping on some kind of hey-look-how-many-stars-are-in-this bandwagon. Also, Martin Scorsese always faces harsher critics than anyone else, because he has himself as competition. It’s always that Gangs of New York is good, but it’s not Raging Bull. Well yeah, but if some bland actor had directed Gangs of New York, he’d have won Best Director.

But all that is beside the point once you’ve seen The Departed (and don’t start in with me on it being a remake. You want this thing to be three pages? Is that what you want?) The plot will sound way too pulpy and fun for something this good: One young cop is highly decorated, works in a suit, and is a status-obsessed yuppie douchebag who happens to have been partly raised by the most powerful mobster in Boston, and is actually a mole for the bad guys. Another young cop, a hothead punk, never really gets to be a cop at all. After the academy, he’s given an ultimatum: pick a new profession, or take a fake dismissal, a fake arrest and a real prison stay, followed by a stint—as long as it takes—undercover as a mole for the police, alongside that same most powerful mobster in Boston who raised the other cop. I know what you’re thinking: How did this not get made in 1990 with Jean-Claude Van Damme playing both roles as separated twin brothers? I guess we lucked out. The parts are played by Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio, respectively. Or, maybe it’s Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon. You’ll find out about five minutes into the film which is working for which side, so I won’t spoil it here.

But trust me on this: whether they’re your favorite actors, or even if you’ve never liked them in a movie before, Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio are excellent in The Departed. Damon is doing a spin on his Jason Bourne character, crossed with Jodie Foster in The Silence of the Lambs, trying really hard to let his intelligence hide his humble upbringing. DiCaprio is the opposite, fighting his hands bloody, swearing and spitting, all to prove that he’s not just some spoiled punk, but an adult worthy of respect. It should come as no surprise that both wind up interested in the same woman (but not in any contrived way; remember, they basically work in the same building and don’t know it). And of course, they both constantly fear for their own lives, usually as a direct response to something the other has done.

I could go on like this with each character. The Departed is full of actors to whom the term “never better” could apply: Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Alec Baldwin (see also, “never sweatier”). Of the supporting cast, the standout is Mark Wahlberg. Feel free to read the cast list and that sentence as much as you like, but it’s true. Mark Wahlberg comes dangerously close to taking The Departed. I usually like Wahlberg, but I also usually avoid his crappier-looking movies (in other words, I’ve only seen a few Mark Wahlberg movies). Wahlberg’s character is smart-ass pitbull with a badge, puffed up and all up in everyone’s faces. He shares most of his scenes with Martin Sheen, and they have a bit of a Good Cop/Badass thing going that I loved. If there was a Law and Order based on these guys, I’d watch every week.

And then there’s Jack. Jack Nicholson is probably the most satisfying actor alive. Like Scorsese (and, come to think of it, DiCaprio), his critics accuse him of not topping old roles, or of relying too much on his trademarks (what’s he supposed to do, shave off his eyebrows entirely? Have his teeth removed? Talk in Sign-Language?). The Jack Nicholson in The Departed is as sly, funny and charismatic as you’d expect, but also deep into character. Nicholson’s Frank Costello is a mean dude, sexually and pharmaceutically decadent, fatherly, deadly, and losing his grip on sanity. It’s a killer performance, and one I think either requires Jack Nicholson, or a lesser actor doing a Jack Nicholson impersonation. I’ll take the real thing, thanks.

The Departed is one of those rare movies where no one seems safe. The proximity of your table to the stage at the Golden Globes will not protect you in a Martin Scorsese movie. I’m not saying the main characters go down, but at any point in The Departed, they feel like they might, and you will to, which is an awesome feat in a movie like this. And lest you believe anyone who says The Departed is a return to form for Martin Scorsese, and take it to mean what it means when they say it about other directors, know this: The Departed is as exhilarating and innovative as anything put out by anyone in the past decade. Even the title sequence—which falls at the perfect moment, to the perfect music, and even in the perfect frickin’ font, must have given Tarantino a moment of Oh shit.

Who knows, I could be completely overreacting. Or maybe not. I said a lot of the same stuff about Fargo when it first came out as well. A decade later, Fargo is still unique, hilarious and thrilling. William H. Macy and Frances McDormand’s performances are still two of my favorites, and the awful, senseless violence--that McDormand’s Marge laments so beautifully near the end of the picture—is still every bit as shocking and exhilarating as it was the moments those shots first rang out. While The Departed sets us up for its violence and betrayal, Fargo lulls us with serene snowscapes and folksy dialects. See, Fargo came on the heels of Pulp Fiction, Natural Born Killers and a slew of less witty and artful fests of violence. The Coen brothers knew they had to ease us in with characters, human situations and humor. It worked without fail for the entire movie, not to mention the decade. Fargo holds up like gangbusters. It could come out tomorrow and be the movie of the year. Since that’s unlikely to happen, we’ll have to cede that job to The Departed.

The Departed: A
Fargo: A