Almost There: Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Departed"
Tuesday, January 19, 2021 at 11:30AM 
Many actors have long-lasting creative partnerships with their directors, bringing out the best in both artists. Unfortunately, when it comes to Oscar, not everyone gets recognized for these joint efforts. Many thespians don't get that golden recognition for their best work either, adding a tinge of bitterness to their triumph. Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese's 21st-century muse, did get nominated for two of the director's pictures, 2004's The Aviator and 2013's The Wolf of Wall Street. However, I'd argue that the actor's best performance in a Scorsese flick got snubbed. In 2006, despite a lot of precursor attention, The Departed failed to secure an Oscar nod for its ill-fated protagonist…
Martin Scorsese won his little golden man for remaking Andrew Lau and Alan Mak's Infernal Affairs. Transporting the byzantine plot of overlapping double-crosses and double-agents from Hong Kong to Boston, Scorsese and screenwriter William Monahan manage to make the plot even more complicated but somehow just as exciting and clear-eyed as the original. A lot of credit goes to Thelma Schoonmaker's propulsive editing, though we shouldn't underestimate the actors' part in the picture's success. The Departed's cast masterfully negotiates layers of performance within performance, articulating inner turmoil and ruthless menace. DiCaprio best of all.
He plays Billy Costigan, a young man from a troubled background who's trying to leave behind a life lived on the edges of organized crime to become a cop. Enticed both by his intelligence and familial connections, detectives investigating the criminal empire of Frank Costello make Billy a dangerous offer, proposing that he turn into an undercover agent. That's how he finds himself entering the realm of Costello, becoming one of the kingpin's trusted men while feeding information to his supervisors. In Infernal Affairs, Tony Leung took on a very different version of the character, one defined by over a decade of undercover work.
In contrast, we follow Leonardo DiCaprio's Billy's during his days at the police academy and early infiltrating efforts. Instead of finding him already burdened by years of ossified trauma, Scorsese allows us to witness the evolution from young hopes to defeated hopelessness. Fittingly, DiCaprio seems to age dramatically before our eyes. In his very first scene, the actor imbues Billy with caustic fury boiling beneath a severe façade. There's also a great need to prove himself that, combined with the star's babyface, makes Billy look like a sullen teenager.
Billy's an actor through-and-through, a man who puts on a mask and hopes he won't be caught in his deception That doesn't mean he's good at it from the start. DiCaprio slowly makes Billy opaquer, hiding his true self beneath layers of carefully curated subterfuge. Initially, his anger bleeds into vulnerable sorrow with the sort of seamless mercuriality that makes DiCaprio look so novice. However, as the story unfolds, he grows harder, his spirit becomes weary like that of a caged animal who's too tired to fight against prison bars that won't budge no matter what he does.
It's maybe the most internal performance the actor ever gave. One spectacular moment sees him center a violent scene on one instant of pensiveness, for example. Before exploding at the bar and breaking a glass over another patron's head, there's a pause. It's not the hesitation of a guy seething in anger, but the nervous consideration of an improv actor thinking about how he'll approach the scene. It's a dangerous game to play, a knife's edge of deliberate artifice that can easily result in an unconvincing experience for the spectator. Thankfully, both the actor and his director know how to make this approach a winning one.
Part of it is the vocal work in Billy's act. DiCaprio isn't like Streep in that he's never been famous for his ability with accents. Still, the way he rolls the Boston pronunciation in his mouth, modulating it depending on the setting, speaks of great discipline and an understanding of the parameters of fakery intrinsic to Billy's persona. Another element is the body language, which does a lot to subtly exteriorize the toll the investigation has on the undercover cop. Billy says he doesn't sleep, doesn't rest, that he suffers from panic attacks. We believe him without a doubt. It's all there in his walk. As The Departed unfolds, his frame seems to get heavier, each step taking a bit more energy.
On one hand, his fidgety nerves dissipate with newfound confidence. On the other, he's imploding, his body's shutting down, his emotions feeling increasingly ragged. A lot of DiCaprio's bigger performances tend to have a touch of strain to them. As Billy, that fault becomes a feature, a weaponized tool on the actor's arsenal, feverish intensity serving as a counterpoint to the voice work and physical exhaustion. Like a gun, all the parts of Billy are perfectly fitted and work together to make the machine fire. However, the kill shot isn't Billy's successful spy-work but his searing doom. The Departed is a tragedy as much as it is a crime thriller, and DiCaprio plays it accordingly.
I love how he's scared all the time, how Billy always acts like he knows things will end badly for him. His scenes with Nicholson's Costello are dangerous dances that illustrate that fear perfectly. One can smell the sweaty tension irradiating from the screen. Like two cockerels showing off to their adversary, they put on a spectacle of aggression, but their takes on that are starkly different. Nicholson's all self-amused devilishness, while DiCaprio is a lamb pretending to be a wolf while the sounds of incoming slaughter are ringing in his ears. That primal fear never really goes away, neither does the nausea or the despair at the sight of death.
Much more could be written about DiCaprio's scenes with Nicholson. The fatherly-filial undertones to the dynamic are especially juicy. Regardless, I'd like to end this analysis by shining a light on the saddest relationship that the actor gets to flesh out in the course of the movie.
Upon Billy's meetings with his therapist played by Vera Farmiga, DiCaprio talks to her like a lost person in desperate need of someone to show him a path. He doesn't even seem to want salvation, just a way forward, direction, anything. There's a sweetness to Billy, a fragile tenderness that becomes evident in these interactions. It lives in the little details, like when he hangs her childhood photo instead of shoveling in a box, holding the framed photo as if it's a precious treasure instead of something to hide. The gesture screams of deep longing, a desire for love and peace, for a normal life, whatever that might mean. For a life that both Billy, DiCaprio, and we know he'll never get.
Despite delivering a standout performance in a Best Picture champion, DiCaprio was nominated for a different movie in 2006. Blood Diamond won him a Best Actor nod despite not performing as well with AMPAS as the Scorsese flick. What made that turn tower over his work in The Departed is likely a case of vote splitting across categories. At the Globes and the Critics Choice Awards, DiCaprio got two Best Actor nominations while the BAFTAs singled out his work in the gangster movie and ignored the other picture altogether. SAG, however, nominated DiCaprio as a lead for Blood Diamond and as a supporting actor for The Departed.
With Academy members throwing votes at both categories, it's no wonder DiCaprio got more votes for Blood Diamond and ended up nominated for that lesser effort. One must also understand that, if considered a supporting actor, he had to contend with a ton of internal competition from The Departed's cast. Mark Wahlberg got the sole Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor but DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, and Alec Baldwin also received plenty of attention from precursors.
The Best Actor lineup of the Oscars was composed by DiCaprio in Blood Diamond, Ryan Gosling in Half Nelson, Peter O'Toole in Venus, Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness, and, the winner, Forest Whitaker in The Last King of Scotland. As for the Best Supporting Actor category, the nominees were Alan Arkin who won for Little Miss Sunshine, Jackie Earle Haley in Little Children, Djimon Hounsou in Blood Diamond, Eddie Murphy in Dreamgirls, and Mark Wahlberg in The Departed. Would you have substituted any of these men for DiCaprio in The Departed? I'd have nominated him for this instead of Blood Diamond.
The Departed is now streaming on Netflix. You can also rent it from most services.
Reader Comments (31)
Sure, I would have preferred DiCaprio nominated for this over bleeping Blood Diamond, if he had to get nominated in 2006. BUT, of who was eligible in '06...? There are quite a few performances I would have favoured over EITHER DiCaprio performance. JGL in Brick? Daniel Craig in Casino Royale? Hugo Weaving in V for Vendetta? Ioan Fiscuteanu in The Death of Mr. Lazarescu? Sacha Baron Cohen in Borat? Ulrich Muhe in The Lives of Others? Clive Owen in Children of Men? Either lead actor in The Prestige? Any of those would have been cooler swerve nominations, than nominating the less cool of DiCaprio's 2...not super cool...movies that year.
2006's Best Actor lineup was really terrible. I wish Leo had been nominated for The Departed instead, as his performance in that film was miles above the one he gave in Blood Diamond.
Also wish that Daniel Criag and Clive Owen had received nominations, as well. Craig was iconic (and gorgeous) in Casino Royale, while Owen delivered an understated and devastating performance in an equally devastating film. I'm not sure why Children of Men has fallen out of the conversation in recent years.
Never understood the love for Forest Whitaker. I thought James McAvoy gave the better performance in the movie.
At least Gosling -- the deserving winner -- made the cut.
Here's my ongoing list of performances that got SAG and Golden Globe nominations, but failed to get Oscar nods. Leo makes the list for this film, but as noted, could possibly be because of category confusion or competition with another film. In any event:
1994: John Turturro - Quiz Show (Supporting Actor)
1994: Meryl Streep - The River Wild (Best Actress)
1994: Robin Wright - Forrest Gump (Supporting Actress)
1994: Jamie Lee Curtis - True Lies (Supporting Actress)
1995: Anjelica Huston - The Crossing Guard (Supporting Actress)
1997: Pam Grier - Jackie Brown (Best Actress)
1998: Jane Horrocks - Little Voice (Best Actress)
1999: Jim Carrey - Man on the Moon (Best Actor)
1999: Cameron Diaz - Being John Malkovich (Supporting Actress)
2001: Cameron Diaz - Vanilla Sky (Supporting Actress)
2001: Hayden Christensen - Life as a House (Supporting Actor)
2002: Richard Gere - Chicago (Best Actor)
2002: Dennis Quaid - Far From Heaven (Supporting Actor)
2003: Evan Rachel Wood - Thirteen (Best Actress)
2003: Maria Bello - The Cooler (Supporting Actress)
2004: Paul Giamatti - Sideways (Best Actor)
2005: Russell Crowe - Cinderella Man (Best Actor)
2005: Ziyi Zhang - Memoirs of a Geisha (Best Actress)
2006: Leonardo DiCaprio - The Departed (Best Actor)
2007: Ryan Gosling - Lars and the Real Girl (Best Actor)
2007: Angelina Jolie - A Mighty Heart (Best Actress)
2008: Kate Winslet - Revolutionary Road (Best Actress)
2010: Mila Kunis - Black Swan (Supporting Actress)
2011: Leonardo DiCaprio - J. Edgar (Best Actor)
2011: Tilda Swinton - We Need to Talk About Kevin (Best Actress)
2012: John Hawkes - The Sessions (Best Actor)
2012: Helen Mirren - Hitchcock (Best Actress)
2012: Marion Cotillard - Rust & Bone (Best Actress)
2012: Nicole Kidman - The Paperboy (Supporting Actress)
2013: Tom Hanks - Captain Phillips (Best Actor)
2013: Daniel Bruhl - Rush (Supporting Actor)
2014: Jake Gyllenhaal - Nightcrawler (Best Actor)
2014: Jennifer Aniston - Cake (Best Actress)
2015: Michael Shannon - 99 Homes (Supporting Actor)
2015: Idris Elba - Beasts of No Nation (Supporting Actor)
2015: Helen Mirren - Trumbo (Supporting Actress)
2016: Amy Adams - Arrival (Best Actress)
2016: Hugh Grant - Florence Foster Jenkins (Supporting Actor)
2017: Steve Carrell - Battle of the Sexes (Supporting Actor)
2017: James Franco - The Disaster Artist (Best Actor)
2017: Hong Chau - Downsizing (Supporting Actress)
2018: John David Washington - BlackKklansman (Best Actor)
2018: Timothee Chalamet - Beautiful Boy (Supporting Actor)
2018: Emily Blunt - Mary Poppins Returns (Best Actress)
2019: Taron Egerton - Rocketman (Best Actor)
2019: Christian Bale - Ford v. Ferrari (Best Actor)
2019: Jennifer Lopez - Hustlers (Supporting Actress)
Am I the only one around here who likes Leo's work in Blood Diamond? Yes, I also prefer him in The Departed, but I think he was one of the better parts of Blood Diamond. Even with the accent, it was one of those times that I didn't feel Leo was ACTING all the time. I also think I generally like Blood Diamond more than most.
Like others have said, Clive Owen should have been in that lineup for Children of Men (and I would also argue for Aaron Eckhart in Thank You for Smoking), but I don't hate the 2006 Best Actor lineup. In fact, Best Actor being a category so fanatically tied to Best Picture, it's kind of cool that there's a year where not a single nominee for Best Actor was from a Best Picture nominee (in fact, all but one were the single citation for their film). Ryan Gosling is amazing in Half Nelson and should have won, though I do think Forest Whitaker is terrific in The Last King of Scotland and, other than always having this feeling that he's actually Supporting in that film, I'm fine with him winning.
He's great in this, but I'm always pleased when a category fraud gambit fails. Mark Wahlberg was the best possible nominee from this movie in this category.
Craig as Best Actors a bit much seeing how he's only a middling Bond
That SAG category fraud was one of the worst i've seen but Leo struggles playing the tough guy though I though both he and Damon should have been nominated over Smith and O'Toole plus Nicholson was way better after a recent rewatch.
I wanted Gosling to win in that thin category.
I will say I've never heard a bigger GASP in a theater than when Leo's character meets his fate in the elevator.
markgordonuk: That's the perception NOW, though? Just based on Casino Royale, so forget every subsequent film, especially Spectre, there was every possibility for Craig's era of Bond to be great.
Vera Farmiga was also snubbed that year for her work in THE DEPARTED. It's still her best performance on film.
DiCaprio was fantastic in this. When he's on, he's incredible. He totally deserved the nomination for this, and I would have given him the win.
Great write-up, although when I think of The Departed, the performances by Damon, Nicholson, Wahlberg and Farmiga are more vivid in my recollection. Especially the underrated turn by Damon, who would be my Best Actor pick of the two leads.
DAVID - Agreed! There hasn't been a time since when my theater has gone quite so nuts. The audience was in total disbelief.
This one hurts even more because Blood Diamond, which I liked at the time, really has not aged well. This is Leo's best performance in my book, and considering he took so many risks early on, it made me excited for his next chapter. He still has a few great moments, and I actually like what Tarantino's been able to pull from him, but this role felt like the payoff from his partnership with Scorsese.
My 06 list: Craig, DiCaprio (winner), Eckhart, Ejiofor, Whitaker (still a solid winner pick). Owen would be my sixth, as the direction felt like the star in Children of Men.
Wahlberg pretty gave the only performance in that movie I really didn't like. I remember someone joking in a lot of movies you give the nod to the one who dies, so here it goes to the one who lives. Farmiga would have been deserving, and this hinted at the jaw dropping talent we see her portray in Up in the Air, where she is absolutely incredible.
Wahlberg emerging the lone acting nominee for this was...perplexing.
Leo was snubbed in all his best performances: The Departed, Shutter Island and Revolutionary Road
I LOLed at Wahlberg nomination. After watching DiCaprio and Nicholson in this movie, you don't exactly recall Mark as your MVP. Does anyone does?
Still Leo's best performance. He's mesmerizing and, as others mentioned, it doesn't feel like he's ACTING, as often happens with his work.
Looks like I am in the minority here. The Departed is not a good movie at all. It is a bleak and bad remake of the excellent Infernal Affairs
I love this performance and agree that it's miles better than his work in BLOOD DIAMOND that same year, but i'm not sure i'd call it his best ever. Still one of his best for sure. But it's a pity to me that more people havene't seen INFERNAL AFFAIRS since Tony Leung is so fantastic in it.
I’ve always loved Leo’s performance in The Departed. He should’ve won the Oscar.
Thank you for writing this!
My theory was that the majority of Academy members saw his name, paid no attention to the film listed, nor to his name being listed twice, and checked him off. Then again, Hounsou was nominated, so maybe the actors just totally went crazy for Blood Diamond. That being said, The Departed is far and away my favorite Best Picture of that decade, and ranks near the top of my all time list. It may not even rank as Top 5 Scorsese for some, but I'll be damned if it's not one of the most entertaining (and infinitely quotable) winners we've ever had. The ensemble is just having the time of their lives, and DiCaprio manages to anchor it with an emotional core. Bless Forrest Whitaker, but I think Leo should've taken this one.
You nail what's so special about this performance, and why DiCaprio's typically annoying strain works to his advantage here.
He still ended up as dreadful 6th in my ideal ballot behind the following men:
Daniel Craig, Casino Royale
Matt Damon, The Departed (winner?)
Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson (winner?)
James McAvoy, The Last King of Scotland
Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
@Cláudio: I would also be very interested in reading a retrospective on Nicholson's performance in the same movie, since he was also an 'Almost There'
DiCaprio is great in this film as my dad was a huge fan of his and liked what he was doing with Scorsese. I think his favorite DiCaprio-Scorsese performance was definitely The Wolf of Wall Street as he just laughed his ass off yet one of the last movies he ever saw was Django Unchained as he thought Leo just went into the echelons of the greats. He was correct.
I think his performance was better than the one in Internal Affairs, and Matt Damon's was weaker. Love both movies, just wish more people seem Internal Affairs and knew this was a remake of an Asian classic.
The thing about DiCaprio in BLOOD DIAMOND was that it was such an old-fashioned movie star turn. Maybe the Academy wanted to send him a message: You should try to be the Clark Gable of your time, not the American Daniel Day Lewis.
Nathaniel - what would you say is Leo's best performance?
The disdain for DiCaprio is still strong on here I see.
Am I the only one who thought Wahlberg slayed in The Departed?
Michael R: No, you're not the only one. At the time, his was my favorite performance in the film (I particularly loved the payoff with his character).
Volvagia -- I'd have nominated this performance, but DiCaprio isn't my winner. Going by the eligibility list, my favorite Leading Actor of 2006 was Jeremie Renier in L'ENFANT.
George -- I too love Craig's first turn as Bond and would have nominated him. I do really like Whitaker, but find it difficult to see him as a lead in that movie.
Paranoid Android -- I also have this list on my laptop. They're all performances I plan to cover in the Almost There series at some point.
Richter Scale - Agreed about Whitaker.
markgordonuk -- Out of the nominees, Gosling gets my vote too.
DAVID -- That's a shocking moment for sure. I would have loved to see how an audience reacted to it in the cinema. Alas, I was too young in 2006 to get to experience this movie in theaters.
Dan Humphrey -- She's great here but I do prefer her work in DOWN TO THE BONE, UP IN THE AIR and SKIN.
Working Stiff -- Thanks for the complimentary words. Glad you liked the write-up.
eurocheese -- Whalberg is THE DEPARTED's Fortinbras. After everyone has bit the bullet, he's still there.
NATHANIEL R -- What's your favorite DiCaprio performance? My top three are this, REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, and ONCE UPON A TIME... IN HOLLYWOOD.
H -- Thank you for reading it.
BVR -- That's a great Best Actor lineup. Thanks for sharing.
KC -- I really love Damon too, if I'm honest. It's probably his best performance after Ripley.
Michael R -- I think he's good too.
Thank you all for the feedback. It's always appreciated.