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Movie Review: The Departed

October 30th, 2006 | 1 min read

By Matthew Lee Anderson

In the midst of work and writing I took some time off to see The Departed last week.  Star-studded line-up, great screenwriting, and Scorcese behind the wheel combined for an intriguing--albeit violent and profanity-laced--movie watching experience.

Mere O friend Richard Radcliffe reviews the movie here.   I left the theater conflicted about the film, and remain so five days later.  It is a masterful plot, but dissatisfying to me in some deep way that I cannot identify.  It is in essence a tragi-comedy--I could never quite tell whether Scorcese was more interested in telling a fantastic story or in teasing the audience.  Though certainly not exclusive, I think my dissatisfaction lies in the submission of story to, well, Scorcese.  Something does not add up, and it makes the movie less than it could be.

That said, if you can stomach the violence (I barely made it through, but I have a weak stomach for that sort of thing) and the language (which was overwhelming), it is worth seeing once.

Matthew Lee Anderson

Matthew Lee Anderson is an Associate Professor of Ethics and Theology in Baylor University's Honors College. He has a D.Phil. in Christian Ethics from Oxford University, and is a Perpetual Member of Biola University's Torrey Honors College. In 2005, he founded Mere Orthodoxy.