Martin Scorsese has built a career crafting films that deal with lies, deception, loyalty, violence and psychological struggles. Usually, his characters are so blinded by their actions that they do not see how deeply in trouble they have become. The beauty of The Departed is that it revels in this darker aspect of human nature, the characters know that they are getting in too deep to get out but they have no choice but to stay the course and see where it leads them.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon play two similar career-minded men: one looking for a career in wit the State Police, the other in the groves of organized crime. Each has infiltrated the others institution and must uncover as much useful information before being caught and in Billy Costigan’s (DiCaprio) case, likely offed in a most uncomfortable way. The Departed begins on a comedic note with Jack Nicholson as gangster Frank Costello garnering most of them. As the film progresses it morphs into a cat and mouse tale so suspenseful and tightly assembled that you are never sure what is coming and when it does come you have the wind knocked out of you without feeling cheated.

Scorsese has always had the clout to fetch one of the best casts in town, but for the first time in several films, there is not a weak link among the bunch. DiCaprio is a revelation and he gives one of the most emotionally raw performances since Edward Norton in American History X eight years ago. His Costigan is a man whose grave is already dug for him because of the actions of his family and those demons drive him to a tipping point where he could either change a cities future or collapse in the rubble accumulating around him. These alternatives are not lost on Dicaprio and he sways between ferocity and emotional basket case. It is a stunning performance and should silence all of his critics. Matt Damon has become one of today’s most dependable actors and here is no exception. As played by Damon, Colin Sullivan is ambitious, charming and mindful of all of his surroundings. You almost sympathize for the guy until you remember that he has been raised by a ruthless killer, which is turn is exactly why Sullivan is. The supporting cast is filled with excellent and often surprising performances. None more so than Mark Wahlberg. He turns what could have been a brown-nosing scrub of a character into a menacing ladder-climber.

And Jack. The Jack. For most of the film, Jack Nicholson is lost in the world of Frank Costello, and is brilliant. There are only a couple of times when we know we are watching Jack and not Frank, but they are not important enough or common enough to distract from any of the enjoyment of the film. With The Departed , Martin Scorsese has returned to the land that he knows best: the streets of modern America where the American dream is not earned, it is killed for. All the elements of a typical Scorsese film that were mentioned above are in tip-top shape and it feels as if Scorsese is having more fun behind the camera than he has in years. His use of music is once again impeccable as is his use of gritty settings that have embodied his best work. Scorsese has proven with The Departed that he still has the ability to take on a used concept, put his own unique spin on the tale and create what is sure to become one of the best, if not the best film of 2006. It is a triumphant return to comfortable territory and while it may not rank as high on some lists as Taxi Driver, Raging Bull or Goodfellas , it deserves mention along side those films and I can not give a film a higher compliment than that.