Another master class from the master

Based on the 2002 Hong Kong cops n' robbers caper, "Infernal Affairs," Martin Scorsese's taut, unnerving "The Departed" is not only his best work since "Goodfellas" (count me among the hundreds to toss off that little nugget), it's the best American film in years. On the surface, there's the story of two men living their lives undercover -- one in the Boston mob and another in the city's police department. Dig even half an inch deeper, though, and it's a parable of modern manhood rooted firmly in the haywire society in which we live. Transcending the source material with an assurance and level of craftsmanship rarely gifted to audiences, Scorsese, screenwriter William Monahan and an impressive stable of actors create a film that, despite an overly symbolic parting shot, is as near to perfection as modern cinema gets.\nThe director works with a dream cast here, and while that can be a detriment to some movies, "The Departed" draws every ounce of talent from Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin, displaying it all in dizzyingly enjoyable fashion. DiCaprio and Damon both give career-best performances as moles planted in the Irish mob and police department, respectively, and Nicholson is joyously over-the-top as Frank Costello, summoning a loopy, depraved madness that commands attention like none of his characters since The Joker.\nThe striking Vera Farmiga also impresses as DiCaprio's psychologist and Damon's girlfriend, transforming the warmth of her early scenes into the iciness of a Hitchcock blonde in the film's final act. Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin are effective in tense and pivotal small roles, but it is Mark Wahlberg, in his first piece of remarkable acting since "Boogie Nights," that makes the most of his supporting role. All of these actors benefit exponentially from Monahan's searing screenplay, but a lesser cast could only have been damaging.\nA single-disc version of the film is available, but most anyone who saw "The Departed" in theaters is likely (and wise) to pick up the two-disc edition. There's no Scorsese commentary, but we get the excellent 90-minute Turner Classic Movies special, "Scorsese on Scorsese," which follows his career path linearly from 1967's "Who's That Knocking At My Door" to 2004's "The Aviator." Also included are nine fully produced deleted scenes with extended director introductions and two engaging documentaries -- one concerning the real mob man on whom Nicholson's character is based and another on how the culture of criminality that Scorsese was raised around has influenced his films.\nScorsese employs every facet of his art to its most extreme aesthetic affect in "The Departed," from the flawlessly cued soundtrack and insistent pacing to the purposefully jarring editing and intrinsic brutality that penetrates lives of his characters. We haven't seen a true master working at this level since Spielberg and "Saving Private Ryan," and it's a polished product not to be missed by anyone who considers themself even a casual fan of the cinematic arts. Yes, the violence is often extreme, and yes, most of the characters are inherently sociopathic, but Scorsese is an artist who paints with fresh blood and battered psyches. "The Departed" is his minor masterpiece.