Hi, I am Guy,16. Very busy with my AS Levels, taking 5 :( Not much time for ciao, but will keep chec...
Hi, I am Guy,16. Very busy with my AS Levels, taking 5 :( Not much time for ciao, but will keep checking my GB if you want to leave a message.
Member since:19.06.2007
Reviews:17
Members who trust:58
^^^Synopsis^^^
New cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) was brought up in crime; most of his family are or were criminals. This makes him the perfect undercover “mole”, the man on the inside of the terrorising mob run by Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). It’s his assignment to gain Costello’s trust and help his police bosses (Mark Wahlberg and Martin Sheen), who are the only people on the police force who know he is actually a cop, to bring Costello and his violent mob syndicate down. In the meantime, SIU officer, in the same department, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is very trustworthy. It soon becomes clear to the police force that there must be a mole on the inside of the police force working for Costello as he always knows where to go, stand and when to leave on a job that the police are watching. Colin Sullivan is a model officer and has been promoted several times. No one suspects him of being Costello’s mole. Ironically later in the film, he is so trusted he is assigned to finding the mole working for Costello inside the police department, all he has to do is find himself.
With an exciting plot line with several twist and turns it’s one to watch.
^^^Opinion^^^
Immediately, the main thing that stands out to me is the plot. The plot is very well constructed and intricate. The main story focuses on a triangle of lies and deception. Sullivan is a bad cop and a mole for Costello and Costigan is a good cop that is acting as a mole for the police force inside Costello’s ranks. The films focal point is the two cops involvement with Costello and there attempts to find each other. As you are sucked into this mob involved good cop bad cop of corruption and deception you struggle to know who to trust and begin to form opinions of the characters. In that respect this is a good
film.
The strongest part of the film has to be the plot and triangle I have already mentioned. Although at times you may find it confusing, but this is what Scorsese wants, in the end all with be revealed. Extreme tension, suspense and atmosphere is built in many stages of the film where it is, without giving to much away, a close call for Costigan and Sullivan discovering each others identity. The tension is enhanced even more by how close they are without even knowing it, for example they are both sleeping with the same woman. The plot never fails to surprise and just when you think you are on top of it and know what is going on it throws you again with an unsuspected twist. This is one of the most entertaining aspects of the film. The only bone I have to pick with the plot is the ending, because even though the movie is great it ends leaving you unsatisfied as justice isn’t done. Hope that’s not too much info.
The film is not for the faint hearted and squeamish as… yep you guessed it, it’s a Scorsese bloodbath. From this film you can expect your fair share of blood and I might add incredible squib and blood pyrotechniques effects. So if you’re interested in checking out new technology they don’t half show it off in the movie with even more realistic bullet shots than ever before.
Although the film is violent it is violence represented in a realistic manor and wouldn’t be considered over the top or needless. I shall tell you why. I think the film would have had to violent to be successful. The violence in the film enhances many important aspects of Scorsese’s overall creation. It enhances the plot and atmosphere, building more tension and suspense. It creates the threat of death to characters that we as audience members have become attached to; therefore we become more attached, involved and hooked into the story as we will characters on to stay alive. It also brings more emotional issues such as morals into the equation which allows us to see through all the lies and pretences to discover the good people and the truth in a mixed up situation. In all these senses the violence was certainly necessary and total genius as it acts as a gateway for the audience to discover the realities and fallacious aspects of situations in the film.
^^^Acting^^^
The acting in the film was very good and took the whole production to another level. Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance took me brilliant and he was incredibly believable in his role. He really showed versatility and a wide scope of emotion during the film that ranged from sensitivity and vulnerable to, excuse my cliché, very hard and brutal. There is also a convincing performance from Matt Damon although at times he was slightly wooden. The actor that really stood out for me the most in the film was Jack Nicholson who was exceedingly credible and convincing in is role as a Mob boss. The casual brutality of his character brings a new realistic, frightening and somewhat sadistic edge to the film. All in all the acting was very impressive and really helped to develop realism in the plot.
^^^Film Summary^^^
To sum up the film is slow starting but once it does is an adrenaline ride with a great plot that has you hooked the whole way through until a disappointing but reasonably inevitable and realistic ending. Even so, I would still recommend this action packed crime thriller to anyone.
^^^DVD Package^^^
The DVD cover is a good representation of the secrecy and deception that takes place in the film. It shows Costigan, Sullivan and Costello with expressions of serious hardship on their face which is a realistic depiction of the difficulties they face in the film. It also, I believe, shows these members because of the triangular involvement with each other I have already spoke of. They are also positioned in a triangular shape, although that may be reading into it too far but you decide, remember it is Scorsese.
The DVD case has several reviews from newspapers, The Times, The Daily Mirror etc. As for the back of the case it has the blurb and information on the cast, production companies and some special features.
^^^Special Features^^^
The special features for the standard DVD is limited although you can the “two disc set” which comes with a bonus disc just for special features including additional scenes.
The special features you should expect with the movie disc are:
• Moving picture DVD menu. • Scene Selection • Set up – Audio – Choose between: Dolby Digital 5.1 and Stereo. Set Up – Subtitles – English On/Off.
All and all if you’re looking for bonus features, seek the 2 disc edition.
^^^Picture and Sound Quality^^^
I was disappointed with the picture. I found that it was quite square and often very dark; I suppose the darkness was for dramatic effect. I am surprised that the quality wasn’t very good as it was filmed on a good 35mm camera, has an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and was edited by someone who received many awards and nominations including an Oscar for his efforts on the film. Although I have to say although the quality of the picture wasn’t good the cinematography was, with some very interesting and stylish shots that shout gangster movie. Perhaps it’s just me who wasn’t happy with the quality and to be honest, it doesn’t really spoil the experience so shouldn’t prejudice your views on the film.
Sound wise I didn’t really notice much sound in the way of music and when I did it wasn’t used brilliantly, I feel they could have used sound much more successfully to build tension and enhance the atmosphere of some scenes, especially towards the start when the pace of the film was rather slow
In conclusion the picture and sound quality wasn’t on the whole very good but luckily it doesn’t spoil the film, but the film could have been made better if it weren’t for this.
^^^DVD Summary^^^
A well presented DVD although lacks the basic special features unless you pay for a separate disc which has the basics and more.
Thriller - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Timothy West, Neil Morrissey, Tara Fitzgerald, Annette Crosbie, Pauline Quirke, Rob Brydon, Denise Van Outen, John Thomson, Kevin Whately, David Suchet
Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: Bharat Nalluri, Rob Bailey, Andy Wilson - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Jenny Agutter, Lisa Faulkner
i would like to give you an Exceptinal but the site won't let me as it says i can only rate 5 in 24 hours so i had to give it a Very Helpful, sorry as it is a very good review
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Advantages: Witty, gritty, thrilling... the best gangster film I've seen in years. Disadvantages: A bit of a Deus ex machina ending, some predictable moments...negligable really
Entwife 08.06.2007 (04.02.2008)
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Advantages: Superb performances all-round; top calibre thriller; fresh departure for Scorsese; complex and original story; fantastic script Disadvantages: Not really Scorsese's film; overly choppy editing at times; occasional poor use of soundtrack
harlequin21 21.02.2007 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Departed (DVD)
Advantages: Witty, gritty, thrilling... the best gangster film I've seen in years. Disadvantages: A bit of a Deus ex machina ending, some predictable moments...negligable really
Entwife 08.06.2007 (04.02.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Departed (DVD)
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Jun 23rd, 2007
exceptional by (11%):
very helpful by (87%):
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