Dir. Martin Scorsese, US, 2006, 151 mins Cast: Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon Review by Carol Allen Although loosely based on the successful Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs this is a very American movie and a very Scorsese one, returning the worlds of Mean Streets and particularly Goodfellas and succeeding where his Gangs of New York didn't quite cut the mustard. The villains here are the Irish gangsters of Boston, led by Frank Costello (Nicholson), whom we first meet in a convenience store as he makes like one of the Kray twins and is acting generous to semi-orphaned little Colin Sullivan, who lives on his patch. But as we watch Colin grow up into the character played by Matt Damon, Costello is grooming him into his mindset. When Colin joins the state police, Costello has his own man on the inside and it keeps him one step ahead of the law. At the same time another new recruit, Billy Costigan (DiCaprio), whose family have a history as Costello's men, is assigned to go underground as a member of the mob and enable police chief Queenan (Martin Sheen) to finally nail Costello. It is the ultimate "good cop, bad cop" set up. However, as the two sides come gradually to realise they have a mole in their midst both of the young men are trying to find the identity of the other to save themselves. This is a totally gripping, intelligent thriller, tightly adapted from the original by former journalist William Monahan who has captured the authentic flavour of this world with its strong, Irish Catholic culture and language. While rejecting religion Costello and his cronies are still dominated by it. Damon as Sullivan wears his duplicity with ease and has an endearing boyish charm, while DiCaprio's Costigan has the darker, tortured soul of a man driven to the edge. Nicholson is a smiling, soft-spoken, ruthless villain, subject to sudden, terrifying outbursts of verbal and physical violence, including a particularly chilling scene, where he tortures Costigan to establish his credentials. It is a totally charismatic performance. The other characters too make their impact: Sheen as the tough but humane Queenan; Mark Wahlberg as his foul-mouthed and bullying sidekick, who controls Costigan (another "good cop, bad cop" situation); and Alec Baldwin as head of the special investigation unit where Sullivan is playing his double game. Ray Winstone plays Costello's cold-blooded, right-hand man, who talks with his fists first, while Vera Farmiga makes a strong impression as Sullivan's stress counsellor girl friend, who is involved unwittingly with not one mole but two. The film also makes the best use seen yet in a movie of mobile phone technology, particularly during one heart-stopping scene involving Damon and DiCaprio's characters, where not a word is spoken. The film is violent in places, but justifiably so and not excessively so, but it is the workings of the intricate plot and the characters caught up inside it, that gives it the tension of a tightly wound spring always on the point of blowing apart. |
