Film

Keane - The Departed

Ryan Owen 02/03/2007

Rating: 4/5

In recent times, Scorsese has made films that seem to have lost the spark that makes one smile at his work.

But by going back to the streets, he seems to have retained some of the original authenticity that made his earlier work so memorable. Indeed, directors seem to get worse with age, relying more on infinite studio crews to do the work for them (ahem…Lucas). But here, his voice surpasses all the likely meddlers, and his minions have reproduced what was intended.

From the get go, we hear absolute clarity from an almost-whispering Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson), as he releases one of those monologues that we've heard so many times before. But the crux of this is a mixture of reality through a character that is inherently truthful and a character that we know instantly while oldies such as Nicholson, Sheen, Winstone and Baldwin are reliably great and as charismatic as ever.

This is quite an achievement for Scorsese and not to be confused as a return to form, moreso a return to what he knows best: the mean streets.