(Sigh) I’ve outgrown Martin Scorsese
The other night I watched Martin Scorsese’s latest, The Departed. Not having paid much attention to mainstream film this last year, I not only didn’t know the film had won several Oscars, but that it was a Scorsese film at all. Michael just brought it home because he’d been wanting to see it, and I was game to spend a couple of hours on the sofa.
For those unacquainted, The Departed is the story of two Boston cops (Matt Damon and Leo DiCaprio) who each come up on the mean streets under the influence (one directly, one indirectly) of local crime lord Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). There were Mick, Dago and “black guy” (which amused me) references aplenty, shot in the understated wide-shot, natural light style made famous in the 70s by the maverick filmmaker cult that included Eastwood, Altman, Coppola and Scorsese himself. I was engaged by the cinematography, the hilariously obvious symbolism and the fast-paced, profanity-laced banter. The violence was highly stylized, the relationships between characters one-dimensional and consistently representative of missing family ties. This was all established in the first few scenes, and about 20 minutes or so in, I commented that whoever the director was must be a Scorsese devotee. That’s when Michael revealed that this was no knock-off, but the genuine article. My curiosity piqued, I began watching even more closely. I’ve always considered Scorsese a master of this certain genre, and I wanted to see what he had to say.
Turns out I had already sussed it all in the establishing scenes. Nothing wrong with that, after all I defend the Star Wars movies to people who really care about filmcraft. Also Oliver Stone and Steven Spielberg. I may or may not personally love their work, but it has a distinct signature and the people flock to see it. It’s called auteurism, and for most aspiring directors it’s a goal. When someone sees your work and knows by characters, themes and the look and feel of the movie experience that this is your work – and they like it – the director has succeeded.
The thing is, we can’t possibly know this from anything the character herself does or says. Her lines are mostly frustrated, exhorting speeches, her range of emotions narrow (giggles, tears, rants against Corruption). Naturally, she sleeps with the cop to whom she’s not engaged, which for some inexplicable reason is meant to create an unbreakable bond between them which is never explored further (or even mentioned again). It is the only sex scene in the movie.
Is this different from other Scorsese pictures? No. Is that a bad thing? If you go by the Lucas/Stone school of auteurism, no. But if you look across the careers of Altman, Coppola, Eastwood and even Steven Spielberg (if Saving Private Ryan counts), you see a pattern of growth, not just in their innate directorial abilities, but in their understanding of human nature, the roles people play in each other’s lives and an ability to render characters of depth across genders, ethnicities and age groups. Not so for Martin. While his ability to create a sense of time and place within his films remains unwavering, with The Departed he has revealed a weakness which it’s likely at this point he’ll never overcome. He is unlikely to break free from his story mold: bad is good, but also bad. Women are scary, unknowable and ultimately unimportant to the larger torment in which the Men are embroiled. That’s a wrap, and the Oscar goes to…
Selfishly, it really depresses me that his journey stops here. I used to agree with King Missile – “Martin Scorsese Makes the Best Fucking Films.” When John S. Hall wrote the song in 1992, he was a much younger man, and when I believed it in 1992 I was a much younger woman. Now I need more from my legendary American filmmakers. Altman’s dead, Stone and Lucas don’t care and Scorsese is comfy in a box that doesn’t do it for me anymore. The pantheon of my one-time idols is shrinking. I will just have to re-watch Short Cuts and Peggy Sue Got Married until the next Eastwood film comes out and hope for the best.
