The Departed

Not being a huge Scorsese fan, I went along not entirely sure what to expect. Well, I knew what not to expect: no Hollywood ending, no 'happily ever after' and no pandering to the audience. But also, I knew to expect an excellent cast. DiCaprio, Damon, Wahlberg are excellent. Nicholson doesn't steal the show, which was pleasant and both Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin are brilliant in their supporting roles.

The film does cut from calm and relaxed dialogue to scenes of violence with little or no warning, and being a Scorsese film if you don't know what the terms "blow back" and "brain splatter" mean, you soon will.

Be warned, this is a bit of an arse number, being around two and a half hours long. However, it never bores. There are no moments in this that I recalled looking at my watch. It's very enthralling.

Having seen it, I now know what my friend meant when he said there are three places they could have ended this. At the first one, I do recall thinking "They can't end the film like this!" I remember an interview with Scorsese years ago where he said he doesn't shoot films, he shoots real life and real life is messy, and that's certainly what comes across in The Departed.

The final scene will make you gawp like goldfish who's just jumped out of his bowl, only to discover this wasn't such a hot idea after all.

Score: B+

OQ: BANG!

Plot holes: Only one that I noticed. Unfortunately it was stonking huge.