So, yeah, I saw "The Departed" last night...

I finally got around to seeing the Oscar-winning film, "The Departed," last night. Let me warn everyone that there are spoilers in this blog.

With the film winning Best Picture at the Oscars, with a director like Martin Scorcese, and with a cast that featured the likes of: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, and Alec Baldwin, my expectations were rather lofty, to say the least.

To my surprise, the film lived up to the lofty expectations for the first 140 minutes (yes, it's a 2 and a half hour film). The film didn't lag at any point in time. For the first two hours and twenty minutes, it was quite engrossing. But, everything fell apart in the final ten minutes.

The acting was solid all around, as was the directing, and the dialogue. There were some slight goofs here and there, like when Matt Damon's girlfriend has a box full of pictures at his place when she's getting ready to move in and then not long after, Leonardo DiCaprio places up the same picture we had seen at Damon's place, on his girlfriend's wall. In one shot, DiCaprio's arm cast had been beaten off and in the next scene (at the same residence), part of it is back on again. This happens a few times. They were rather microscopic in terms of significance, but there were enough of these small goofs to irritate the avid movie fan after a while.

(spoiler alert)

For 140 minutes, I would give the film a solid 8.5 to 9 stars out of a possible 10. But, the ending drops it down some for me. Scorcese and the cast have the viewers (me, in this case) engrossed for 140 minutes and the ending does anything but leave a satisfied taste in one's mouth. It actually played like more of a cat-and-mouse (rat, in this case) suspense thriller for almost two and a half hours, only to end in a Shakespearean fashion, where everyone kills each other. Everything was set up for a solid finish, but Scorcese and company went with the easy way out in this film.

DiCaprio knew he was in trouble, so he gave Damon's "girlfriend" an envelope with evidence against Damon and his involvement with being Nicholson's inside spy informant. Leo said if he died, for her to give that to the proper authority. Leo arrests Damon, takes him down an elevator shaft and when they reach the floor and the door opens, DiCaprio is shot and killed. Another cop on the seen is then shot and killed. They both fell victim to another inside informant. After this man uncuffs Damon, Damon shoots and kills him. So, Damon will go back to the office. His gilfriend/ex-girlfriend/mother of his child (maybe Leo's) gave the envelope to the proper authority, Damon will be arrested, and all the facts will then be known, right? No, not even close. Damon steps into his apartment room and there awaiting him is Mark Wahlberg, who shoots and kills Damon. That's it. That's the ending. I was on the edge of my seat for 140 minutes and then had to shake my head in disbelief (almost laughter) for the final ten.

I have not seen the other films that were up for Best Picture (outside of "Little Miss Sunshine" and I'll watch "Babel" tonight). If the movie had just ended after 140 minutes, I may have been disappointed that it left the viewers hanging, but there would not have been any component to the film that I could've pointed to and said, "That wasn't well done. That was sloppy." I also may have said that it should be a potential Best Picture candidate (and winner). But, with the final ten minutes, I noticed some poor editing and a horrific anti-climactic ending. With that, I can't say I agree with it winning the Best Picture honors. Just like I felt with the Oscar-award winning film, "Mystic River," the final few minutes of this film undid the superior filmmaking that led up to that point and dismantled what could have been labeled as a magnificent work in filmmaking.

Without the ending, I score the film an 8.5 or 9 out of 10. With the ending, I have to give it a 6.5 out of a possible 10. I can't dismiss the terrific cast, the direction, the suspenseful build up, but I also can't ignore the dreadful ending.