Literary HackThe Departed
May 28th 2009 08:27
I had to write a film analysis last week and what movie better to do it on than, The Departed., the Scorsese movie that finally won the masterful director his long overdue Oscar for picture. So rather than go on about how excellent the movie was; here is my film analysis of The Departed.
The Departed, a good cop - bad cop drama with a twist: The good cop is an undercover agent looking for the bad cop, while the bad cop is looking for the rat, or the good cop, in the mob. The movie accentuates the similarities of good and evil through the duplicity of the two main characters, Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon.
Section 1: Summary of Movie Using Three Key Points
The movies plot and delivery relied heavily on the acting. Method acting was employed throughout The Departed. As discussed in class, method acting was developed by Konstantin Stanislavsky and was considered a breakthrough in acting. Method acting was the idea that actors should draw on personal experiences and the emotions that they stirred up to create realism. Stella Adler had her students learn how do use their imagination to concoct emotions for their scenes. Method acting was practiced by almost all of the prevalent characters in this movie. Specifically, Leonardo DiCaprio had to become a convincing paranoid, Matt Damon had to illustrate that he had a gift when it came to lying and manipulating, Jack Nicholson employed method acting to turn himself into a murderous psychopath, and Mark Wahlberg had to portray himself as a rude, angry, and heartless detective.
The Departed uses Non-diegetic sounds to add to the movie and themes of the movie. The movie starts off with the Rolling Stones Gimme Shelter; the line that is predominately repeating in that movie is war, its just a shot away.” Also, the movie has Dropkick Murphys song, Shipping Up to Boston, which is an homage to the movies setting. Another time that the movie uses its soundtrack to display mood is when Nas, Thief Theme; it is a gangster rap which is played at the point of the movie in which DiCaprio is driving around, selling cocaine.
Another area in which The Departed excels, is its editing. Martin Scorsese does a wonderful job of using a moving camera throughout the movie. Some examples of this include when Martin Sheens character is thrown off a roof and the camera follows him on the way down. In the scene on the roof where Leonardo Dicaprio and Matt Damon meet for the first time, we again see the camera capturing all the action because the camera is constantly moving. The moving camera editing technique is used to show action in movies along with fluidity which makes it easier for the audience to grasp the happenings of the film.
Section 2: Summary of Plot
The Departed is set in Boston, South Boston to be exact. There, the Italian and Irish mobs are vying for power. The police are beginning to further advance their attempts to eradicate the mobs. Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is an undercover cop whose job is to get to the head boss, Frank Costello, (Jack Nicholson) and take him in. This is all happening at the same time as one of Costellos loyal men, Colin Sullivan, (Matt Damon) becomes a police officer to help out Costello from the inside.
While Costigan gets closer to Costello as he becomes more and more acclimated with the violence and ugliness associated with Costellos gang; Sullivan excels as a detective and gets promoted to SIU (Special Investigation Unit). Costigan and Sullivan are both trying to find a rat (each other) and while both are unaware, they are seeing the same woman.
The movie builds to the climax to the point when Costigan and Sullivan will finally meet. The movie focuses to the idea that the two characters are very similar people only separated by which side of good and evil they are on. That theme of the similarities of good and evil is also seen throughout the movie, as shown in Costellos line to a young Sullivan at the beginning of the movie: Trying to establish his reasoning to Sullivan, Costello tells him that hes no different than the law, saying, "When youre facing a loaded gun, whats the difference?”
Section 3: Discussion of Strategies Used in the Film
Ive touched on a few, but lets look at several of the strategies used in the film, The Departed. As far as the photography, The Departed took a realism approach for the most part, using colors to display moods as well as using angles to give strength and weakness to characters. As I stated before, the moving camera was a major technique used by Scorsese. The editing is superb, and simply, very advanced in this movie. The movie seamlessly bounces back and forth through not only the different characters and their stories, but also the movie leaps forward and backwards through time. The soundtrack was very well done in this movie; with the music selected very carefully, showing the themes of the movie, or foreshadowing the plot. Another thing about the soundtrack that differentiated itself from other soundtracks was that it had no fading in and out at the beginning or end of songs. This was done to keep the emotional edge in the audience.
The acting was phenomenal in this movie, which was to be expected with the all-star cast. The style of acting used was method, as we discussed before. Drama in this movie was perfect; flashbacks were used in this movie to keep the audiences suspense level and there were many close up shots to show importance of objects. The story is a realistic one that focuses on characters enough to explain itself. As the spectator we follow along with an unconscious understanding as to what is happening and why. The Departed is told like many fiction movies today, classical paradigm style. Classical Paradigm style is the idea of scenes slowly building to the climax of the story. In this case, the climax of the movie is for Costigan and Sullivan to finally meet each other; every scene slowly builds up to it. The writing simply is amazing in this movie. The comparisons between Costigan and Sullivan are superb and create a complex but perfect story that the audience becomes a part of.
Section 4: Most Effective Element in the Film
While every element was used to its fullest in this movie, I feel that the writing was the biggest and lent the most weight in making The Departed the great movie that it is. The writing was the main reason the actors had the material to put on the superb performances that they did. The writing was what gave DiCaprio and Damon the ability to show their similarities and let them explore each of their characters demons. The movie was written with both very funny and extremely poignant lines. Wahlberg’s character is chalk-full of hilarious one-liners, displayed throughout the film. Here are some great quotes from The Departed:
Frank Costello: You do well in school?
Young Colin: Yeah
Frank Costello: Good. So did I. They call that a paradox.
_____________________________ ___________
Frank Costello: [laughs] Only kidding. How's your mother?
Man in Costello's Bar: Oh... I'm afraid she's on her way out.
Frank Costello: [walks away] We all are. Act accordingly.
[smiles and his straightens tie]
_____________________________ ___________
Frank Costello: When you decide to be something, you can be it. That's what they don't tell you in the church. When I was your age they would say we can become cops, or criminals. Today, what I'm saying to you is this: when you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?
_____________________________ ___________
Frank Costello: I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me.
_____________________________ ___________
Madolyn: Why is the last patient of the day always the hardest?
Billy Costigan: Because you're tired and you don't give a shit. It's not super-natural.
_____________________________ ___________
Dignam: My theory on Feds is that they're like mushrooms, feed 'em shit and keep 'em in the dark
Those are just some of the many good quotes in the movie that both illustrate its satirical humor and its intelligence. I believe the writing was the most important element and also helped all other areas of this movie into becoming an instant classic.
The Departed, a good cop - bad cop drama with a twist: The good cop is an undercover agent looking for the bad cop, while the bad cop is looking for the rat, or the good cop, in the mob. The movie accentuates the similarities of good and evil through the duplicity of the two main characters, Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon.
Section 1: Summary of Movie Using Three Key Points
The movies plot and delivery relied heavily on the acting. Method acting was employed throughout The Departed. As discussed in class, method acting was developed by Konstantin Stanislavsky and was considered a breakthrough in acting. Method acting was the idea that actors should draw on personal experiences and the emotions that they stirred up to create realism. Stella Adler had her students learn how do use their imagination to concoct emotions for their scenes. Method acting was practiced by almost all of the prevalent characters in this movie. Specifically, Leonardo DiCaprio had to become a convincing paranoid, Matt Damon had to illustrate that he had a gift when it came to lying and manipulating, Jack Nicholson employed method acting to turn himself into a murderous psychopath, and Mark Wahlberg had to portray himself as a rude, angry, and heartless detective.
The Departed uses Non-diegetic sounds to add to the movie and themes of the movie. The movie starts off with the Rolling Stones Gimme Shelter; the line that is predominately repeating in that movie is war, its just a shot away.” Also, the movie has Dropkick Murphys song, Shipping Up to Boston, which is an homage to the movies setting. Another time that the movie uses its soundtrack to display mood is when Nas, Thief Theme; it is a gangster rap which is played at the point of the movie in which DiCaprio is driving around, selling cocaine.
Another area in which The Departed excels, is its editing. Martin Scorsese does a wonderful job of using a moving camera throughout the movie. Some examples of this include when Martin Sheens character is thrown off a roof and the camera follows him on the way down. In the scene on the roof where Leonardo Dicaprio and Matt Damon meet for the first time, we again see the camera capturing all the action because the camera is constantly moving. The moving camera editing technique is used to show action in movies along with fluidity which makes it easier for the audience to grasp the happenings of the film.
Section 2: Summary of Plot
The Departed is set in Boston, South Boston to be exact. There, the Italian and Irish mobs are vying for power. The police are beginning to further advance their attempts to eradicate the mobs. Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is an undercover cop whose job is to get to the head boss, Frank Costello, (Jack Nicholson) and take him in. This is all happening at the same time as one of Costellos loyal men, Colin Sullivan, (Matt Damon) becomes a police officer to help out Costello from the inside.
While Costigan gets closer to Costello as he becomes more and more acclimated with the violence and ugliness associated with Costellos gang; Sullivan excels as a detective and gets promoted to SIU (Special Investigation Unit). Costigan and Sullivan are both trying to find a rat (each other) and while both are unaware, they are seeing the same woman.
The movie builds to the climax to the point when Costigan and Sullivan will finally meet. The movie focuses to the idea that the two characters are very similar people only separated by which side of good and evil they are on. That theme of the similarities of good and evil is also seen throughout the movie, as shown in Costellos line to a young Sullivan at the beginning of the movie: Trying to establish his reasoning to Sullivan, Costello tells him that hes no different than the law, saying, "When youre facing a loaded gun, whats the difference?”
Section 3: Discussion of Strategies Used in the Film
Ive touched on a few, but lets look at several of the strategies used in the film, The Departed. As far as the photography, The Departed took a realism approach for the most part, using colors to display moods as well as using angles to give strength and weakness to characters. As I stated before, the moving camera was a major technique used by Scorsese. The editing is superb, and simply, very advanced in this movie. The movie seamlessly bounces back and forth through not only the different characters and their stories, but also the movie leaps forward and backwards through time. The soundtrack was very well done in this movie; with the music selected very carefully, showing the themes of the movie, or foreshadowing the plot. Another thing about the soundtrack that differentiated itself from other soundtracks was that it had no fading in and out at the beginning or end of songs. This was done to keep the emotional edge in the audience.
The acting was phenomenal in this movie, which was to be expected with the all-star cast. The style of acting used was method, as we discussed before. Drama in this movie was perfect; flashbacks were used in this movie to keep the audiences suspense level and there were many close up shots to show importance of objects. The story is a realistic one that focuses on characters enough to explain itself. As the spectator we follow along with an unconscious understanding as to what is happening and why. The Departed is told like many fiction movies today, classical paradigm style. Classical Paradigm style is the idea of scenes slowly building to the climax of the story. In this case, the climax of the movie is for Costigan and Sullivan to finally meet each other; every scene slowly builds up to it. The writing simply is amazing in this movie. The comparisons between Costigan and Sullivan are superb and create a complex but perfect story that the audience becomes a part of.
Section 4: Most Effective Element in the Film
While every element was used to its fullest in this movie, I feel that the writing was the biggest and lent the most weight in making The Departed the great movie that it is. The writing was the main reason the actors had the material to put on the superb performances that they did. The writing was what gave DiCaprio and Damon the ability to show their similarities and let them explore each of their characters demons. The movie was written with both very funny and extremely poignant lines. Wahlberg’s character is chalk-full of hilarious one-liners, displayed throughout the film. Here are some great quotes from The Departed:
Frank Costello: You do well in school?
Young Colin: Yeah
Frank Costello: Good. So did I. They call that a paradox.
_____________________________ ___________
Frank Costello: [laughs] Only kidding. How's your mother?
Man in Costello's Bar: Oh... I'm afraid she's on her way out.
Frank Costello: [walks away] We all are. Act accordingly.
[smiles and his straightens tie]
_____________________________ ___________
Frank Costello: When you decide to be something, you can be it. That's what they don't tell you in the church. When I was your age they would say we can become cops, or criminals. Today, what I'm saying to you is this: when you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?
_____________________________ ___________
Frank Costello: I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me.
_____________________________ ___________
Madolyn: Why is the last patient of the day always the hardest?
Billy Costigan: Because you're tired and you don't give a shit. It's not super-natural.
_____________________________ ___________
Dignam: My theory on Feds is that they're like mushrooms, feed 'em shit and keep 'em in the dark
Those are just some of the many good quotes in the movie that both illustrate its satirical humor and its intelligence. I believe the writing was the most important element and also helped all other areas of this movie into becoming an instant classic.
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