By Bentley FordPLAY Columnist
Dear Mr. Sullivan, my gallant editor-in-chief,
As you may recall, you wrote this in last week’s issue: “We don’t have a film feature or any reviews this week, but in our opinion, nothing important happened anyway.”
Nothing important? Those are some bold and erroneous words, Sullivan! Sure, we lacked our feature and reviews last week, but not for want of important filmmaking. You really should punch this film into IMDb and check the release date: The Departed, October 6, 2006. If not for the Chicago Film Festival last week, some daring freshman would have given it PLAY’s first A of the year, and deservedly so.
How this year’s best film (in wide-release, at least) could not just get ignored but also get considered “nothing important” befuddles me. First of all, it has the kind of cast that’ll make you do a double take when you see the poster: DiCaprio, DaMonday, Nicholson, Baldwin, Wahlberg and Sheen. That list is loaded with some of the most talented and leonine actors around. And when the Oscar nominations arrive, and they announce the names, it’ll sound like they’re just reading the poster.
But the movie qualifies as more than “nothing important” when the best part isn’t the overwhelming cast; it’s the legendary director who many consider the star. Martin Scorsese makes this film something important. If you somehow don’t recognize the name, Sullivan, he’s the one with all of the eyebrows and none of the Oscars, and he’s made his best film since GoodFellas.
The Departed throws Scorsese back into his natural habitat: the dirty pavement, damp alleys and pulpy punches. Gone are the epic aspirations of Gangs of New York and the expansive indulgence of The Aviator – traits that disappointed fans and critics alike. (Although I thoroughly enjoyed both films, particularly The Aviator.)
While a remake of the recent Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs, The Departed belongs to Scorsese. “I don’t wanna be a product of my environment,” growls Nicholson as the film begins. “I want my environment to be a product of me.” This one line explains how a remake can feel so distinctly personal. The current cinematic landscape is, in many ways, a product of Scorsese. His contributions to film – particularly his style, tone and the respect he holds for his actors – have inspired filmmakers around the world, all who grew up watching his movies.
Indeed, his voice in the choir of film’s greatest directors is loud and infectious, despite the slightness of his stature and the wheeze of his asthma, and Hong Kong cinema filmmakers have been listening closely. The director of the original film, Wai Keun Lau, often professes his love for Scorsese’s work, and it shows. Infernal Affairs, and many other films that hail from Hong Kong, pay homage to Scorsese’s work, particularly the neon glow and raw aggression of Taxi Driver. In a way, The Departed is just Scorsese taking back what was originally his.
And yet, despite his pedigree, Scorsese is most famous among casual audiences for his bad luck. As mentioned above, he has never won in an Oscar, and he has had, until now, dismal success at the box office. Jon Stewart noted the injustice at last year’s Academy Awards: “Three 6 Mafia, one. Scorsese, zero.”
Ironically, the man who has directed 16 Oscar-nominated and five Oscar-winning performances has only been nominated five times for Best Director. Three of those times, he lost the award to an actor. Is this how the acting community repays him? For shame, Redford! For shame, Eastwood! For shame, Costner! (Kevin, how can you sleep at night knowing you both directed Waterworld and robbed an old asthmatic man of his long overdue award?)
Unfortunately for Scorsese, the threat is threefold this year, as there’s a triptych of Oscar-baiting movies releasing this year with actors at the helm. Eastwood’s Flags of our Fathers, Estevez’s (as in Emilio, from the Mighty Ducks trilogy) Bobby and none other than DeNiro’s The Good Shepard.
The stage is set for an American tragedy: Will we see DeNiro betray his beloved Scorsese – who gave him his start and directed him in eight movies, one of which won him an Oscar? Will he pry that golden statuette out of his mentor’s trembling hands? Will Scorsese lose to his old muse? If people keep calling his films “nothing important,” he very well might. For shame, Mr. Sullivan.
Communication sophomore Bentley Ford is the PLAY film columnist. He can be reached at [email protected].
