You laughing at me?... Jack Nicholson in The Departed
Martin Scorsese's new film, The Departed, is a cops and gangsters crime film. It has murder, violence, blood and guts. It has Jack Nicholson as the most feared criminal in Boston. So why did the packed audience at my local cinema spend a lot of the time giggling?
The answer is that The Departed is the most overrated movie of the year so far and Nicholson gives the most overrated performance. Nicholson is not playing Frank Costello, he is playing Jack Nicholson, and his performance is so over-the-top that it's funny. Bear in mind his character is meant to be the most feared criminal in Boston. He is supposed to terrify, but he doesn't.
If you want real menace and real fear, then watch Ben Kingsley's Oscar-nominated performance as the gangster Don Logan in Sexy Beast.
Of course the critical consensus is that The Departed is a great movie: Peter Bradshaw in the Guardian called it Scorsese's best picture since Goodfellas while Philip French in the Observer has said it shows Scorsese and Nicholson "near their considerable best".
It will, doubtlessly, be up for awards. Nicholson has had 12 Oscar nominations and three wins, more than any other male actor. Conversely, Scorsese has had five nominations and won none - an embarrassment to the Academy and one reason he will probably win it.
