The Departed

No spoilers here, so read freely.

Maybe because I had no expectations, Martin Scorsese's new film The Departed did not disappoint me; in fact, I haven't felt so exhilarated by his work since Raging Bull. After sitting through bombs like Cape Fear and Bringing Out the Dead, and tepid achievements like Gangs of New York and The Aviator, I'd resigned myself to the fact that, like his contemporary Francis Ford Coppola, good ol' Marty's good ol' days were all behind him. Any director who could get such howlingly bad performances out of two actors as talented as Daniel Day-Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio, as he did in GONY, does not inspire confidence.

However, everyone in The Departed is operating on all cylinders, from Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker to the scriptwriter to the entire cast. Jack Nicholson has been doing an impersonation of himself for decades now (he can't hold a candle to Al Pacino in that department, however. Pacino doing his Pacino impersonation in every movie ranks right up there with the great Saturday Night Live impersonations—Phil Hartman doing Bill Clinton, Dana Carvey doing George Bush I, Mick Jagger doing Keith Richards). But as over the top as he is, Nicholson is oddly under control here compared to what I'd expected. His rat impersonation alone makes it all worthwhile. But, really, Ray Winstone should have played Frank Costello, except he's too young. Now THAT is a commanding, scary, yet oddly sympathetic screen presence. I can't take my eyes off him.

Leonardo di Caprio, on this day you become a man. I had such high hopes for you back in the Gilbert Grape/This Boy's Life era, and you've finally come into your own. I moderately dislike Matt Damon in general, but this is the role he was born to play (and thank gawd his fellow Bostonian Ben Affleck is nowhere in sight—further proof of Scorsese's genius, as a lesser director would probably consider him an obvious choice for a Boston ensemble flick). The other Bostonian who IS here, happily, is Mark Wahlberg, displaying enormous screen presence and upstaging everyone. Who knew? Of course the script gives him all the best lines, but he delivers them zestily. Alec Baldwin lets you see what Kim Basinger is up against in their neverending little war.

I'm not sure this movie has enough substance to endure over the long haul. Some reviewers have tried to see it as a metaphor for the current state of the world. But, really, the idea that cops and criminals are more alike than not is no revelation, and the perceived message about terrorists and governments, etc., is a bit precious. It continues Scorsese's examination of working-class masculinity (can you call these guys working class?). but doesn't really add anything to it. Even if this movie is nothing more than a joyride (albeit a dark, violent one), it's one of the best-written, most enjoyable joyrides in a very long time. Scorsese and his crew's "astonishing cinematic technique" is probaby the real star here, and for the first time in a long time it's a pleasure rather than a distraction.

I guess I'm a blogger now, sort of

Howdy. For those few who will ever see this or be interested, I doubt I'll ever have the time or desire to post much, considering that I'd rather email you, or even talk to you on the phone or visit you, and you know how often I do those things. Mainly you'll find pictures of our girls here (Lola and little sister Lula from Missoula), plus my random thoughts on things like those few movies I manage to see these days. Books, maybe someday, after the girls go away to college; these days I'm lucky if I manage to finish a three-day-old newspaper in the loo. There may also be the occasional existential scream when global warming, the war in Iraq, and the sale of our media and government to the highest bidders/greediest bastards get the better of me.

If you want to know where Mrs. Bissonette comes from, watch this movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025318/. This is a seminal movie in my family. Along with Elizabeth Taylor's character in Father of the Bride, Amelia Bissonette is the character my father has always (and with extreme injustice) compared me to. In my father's eyes, the three of us share a certain imperiousness, a regal expectation that others can and must indulge our every whim, along with the crushing disappointment and frustration that they do not. Of course I don't see myself that way at all, probably more because I'm really not that way than because I lack self-awareness, but y'all can set me straight. In any case, Kathleen Howard as Mrs. Bissonette ("It's Bee-so-NAY") is one of the great overlooked comic performances, like a Margaret Dumont who's in on the joke. (And, for the record, it's BISS-o-net.)

So, welcome to my blog.