The Departed (Widescreen Edition)
I remember when The Departed was released, as well as all of the Oscar buzz around it. I never actively avoided watching the movie. I think because I knew it would be something I would eventually see, and I was okay with not seeing it in theaters. Also worth noting, this is the second Martin Scorsese movie that I've seen. My intorduction to Scorsese was The Aviator, which I loved. Again, this is another movie that I am really excited about watching for the first time. Mostly, because I want to have a better idea why Scorsese has managed to reach a God like status among the film community. There are actually a few Scorsese movies that are on my list include: Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, and Gangs of New York, so within the year maybe I'll have a better idea. Or maybe I'll even become one of the "them."
After having watched the movie:
(Possible spoilers below)
One of the things that the 365 Movie Challenge is allowing me to do, because the list is made up of such a wide spectrum of movies in terms of: generas, quality, budgets, levels of distribution, and range of talent is that I to watch movies that are on completely different levels. I don't think I would ever see The Departed on the same "watch" list as Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Despite the fact that Bill and Ted wasn't a great movie in same way Dial M For Murder is a great movie I think it still has something to offer.
Only three weeks into the challenge I've started to noticed a few common threads among some of the movies. I feel like the titles that really stick out as being a great movie have really had a lot of time and thought put into them. Something like The Departed, or A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy I feel like the creative minds behind had more invested in their story than something like A Weekend at Bernies. Which even though I liked, I felt it could have quite honestly been thrown together over a weekend in the Hamptons.
More specifically focused on The Departed though, I thought all around it was an amazing movie. It was filled with an amazing cast. There were only two things that really bothered me during the movie, and I will be the first to admit are very minor. I don't want to seem as though I'm knit picking, but I can really only say how amazing the cast was in so many ways.
The first "problem" for me, and I use that term loosely, was the time line or progression of the story. I didn't realize until pretty far into the movie, how much time it actually spans until much later in the movie. I thought we were just a few weeks into the story once Billy managed to get in with Costello, when really the two guys had probably spent a couple of months together. Again, it's by no means anything major. It was just something small that kind of pulled me out of the movie.
I know how minor the second may seem, but I've realized after reading over a couple of older posts that I have really started paying closer attention to the wardrobe and art aspect involved with some of the movies. I'm even willing to admit that it's because I have started sewing and I tend to pay closer attention to these details now.
While some of Sandy Powell's choices for The Departed I think were brilliant, there were others choices that made me cringe. I'm talking specifically about Matt Damon's shoulder padded suit jacket. It's probably just me, but I don't like shoulder pads. I would even support a movement in fashion to just forget about shoulder pads entirely.
The only way I am willing to forgive and let go of the shoulder pads is if in some unimaginable way, which I think this is rather far fetched in the way that symbolism seems to be far fetched, Scorsese and Powell realized how shoulderpads in a suit jacket would add to the story. Even though I think this is something that is picked up on a subconscious level, like body language it can add to the story. The fact that Matt Damon's character is continuiously trying to mask himself as a stronger/better cop than he is, all while trying to keep under wraps his connection to Jack Nicholson's character makes for an appropriate use of shoulder pads at that point in the story. So for that reason I understand in filmmaking why we might need to add to a characters shoulders in order to make our characters appear stronger or broader than they actually are.
Final thoughts: I'm really excited to watch all of the other Scorsese movies on my list. After having seen The Departed and The Aviator I am fairly certain that he managed to figure out how to bring everything aspect of film making together in order to make an absolutely amazing movie. With the exception of shoulder pads, which I am fairly certain manage to appear in both The Departed and The Aviator. However, at this point I couldn't tell you if the shoulder pads continue to be intended or a happy accident. Of course at this point, if I were Sandy Powell, I would have to put my feelings for shoulder pads aside. I would even go as far as to pretend every day for the rest of my life it was a fully conscious decision as I gaze adoringly at my Oscars work in costuming.
OFFICIAL COUNT 19 DOWN 346 TO GO
Next up: Independence Day
* I know it was scheduled for next week, but I just got my days all mixed up. I've decided to watch Independence Day this week, and switch it out with The Blind Side.
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