Both deal in the Irish mafia. Both deal with undercover cops whose minds are torn between justice and and their surreal lifestyle. Both end in bloody fashion with Mexican shootouts. So, which film do you prefer?
"Everybody be cool, you be cool" - Seth Gecko
State of Grace , I feel is the grittier of the two. The main character is far more conflicted, Oldman gives a knockout performance as Jackie, and Ed H. is stone cold as the ring leader. I can watch it over and over, as a frequent NYC St. Patty's day parade goer in my younger days.. the final scene gives me goosebumps still.
Another poster had mentioned loving the noirish Millers Crossing as a worthy contender in this race, I wholeheartedly agree. Millers is on my top five best movies of all time.
Maybe, but he was a lot leaner and cleaner as Leo the boy. Check Basketball Diaries and What's Eating Gilbert Grape.
You wrote:
"But I will say this... Leo Dicaprio the man is becoming a whole lot more interesting to watch than Leo the boy used to be."
Off topic, but first I'd like to say Goodfellas had the superior soundtrack to the 1990 gangster movies. I found the soundtrack of Miller's Crossing to be goofy and not cohesive with the atmosphere of the movie.
I can't really pick which is the superior movie between State of Grace and the Departed. I like them both for different reasons. I think the violence was done much better in State of Grace. The gunfight at the end was brilliant. Whereas the Departed ends with most of the main characters getting a bullet in the head. How profound is that? That's a shame since Scorcese is the true pioneer of cinematic violence. Where Jack Nicholson's role was over the top, Ed Harris was more subtle and low-key and ultimately more menacing. I think Nicholson, like a lot of the other actors, was just delighted to be working with Scorcese for the first time and it showed. I was expecting a lot more from the Gary Oldman performance in SoG. I wouldn't say it's the best role in his career by a longshot. I think Leo did a better job than Sean Penn, maybe just because Sean Penn wasn't enough years removed from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. And I'll agree with most people that from a technical aspect, The Departed was much better made. But what do you expect it's Martin f ucking Scorcese. I'm glad he finally got the oscar and I'm glad he won it for The Departed even though it's hardly his best. But State of Grace is criminally overlooked most likely because a masterpiece (Goodfellas) and a very good gangster movie (Miller's Crossing) were released the same year. I guess it's a draw, but maybe State of Grace should get a slight edge for originality (it wasn't adpated from another movie) and for an ensemble cast of people soon to gain greater notoriety.
"I take my coffee like my women: strong, black and proud."
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I was severely dissapointed with The Departed and my god, I so badly wanted to love it.
Apart from the amazing acting, I just found the film so emotionally cold. I couldn't connect with any of the characters, I just didn't care about any of them, then that ridiculous double and triple and quadruple crossing at the end was almost laughable. People don't honestly think this is a better film than Goodfellas? Surely not?!
State Of Grace is head and shoulders above The Departed in my opinion.
Concur on State of Grace being better than The Departed, and Miller's Crossing being better than both. Have to admit though, I'm growing weary with the gangster genre of late, somebody needs to do something new with it.
The Departed is watchable, but Scorcese phoning in xeroxed suspense sequences almost shot for shot from the ultimately better Mou Gaan Dou was a sorely disappointing experience. Frankly, The Departed relies too heavily on the star power of great actors chewing dialog like rabid dogs in a script that's unnecessarily Americanized to the point of audience condescension, complete with an unintentionally humorous finale and an epilogue with symbology that is, no pun intended, cheesy.
A shame, as Scorcese pulled it off so masterfully with the Cape Fear remake by mutating the look and feel into a stylized nightmare of viscerally arresting proportions. That film is probably his most underrated masterpiece of terror and suspense, especially when compared to the utterly overrated and predictable trudge through cinematic banality known as Shutter Island.
Joanou's career has been spotty and he's flown under the radar since State of Grace, but he is currently directing Warner Brothers' remake of Sharky's Machine, with Wahlberg producing. One has to assume Wahlberg somehow got him attached based on this film. Nothing else he's done could possibly warrant the gig, so hopefully he can bring some of the grit and pathos of this film to that project. Be nice if Oldman's available to play the role originally played by Silva, just so we can see him pointing a gun while screaming like a madman at the end.
Miller's Crossing is of course nothing short of perfect on every level. Easily ranks alongside the genre classics such as White Heat, Goodfellas, The Public Enemy, The Godfather 1 and 2, Scarface(32), Bonnie and Clyde, Point Blank, The Roaring Twenties, etc.
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The Departed´s still bigger, more complex. State Of Grace aims for some more deeply personal relevance, deeper profundity and more tragic shadings ultimately, but is in the end pretty predictable and cliche. All these moral issues this film races through, are a bit of the been-there, seen-that variety, even though the absolute top notch acting helps immensely in making it more or less work in the end. The Departed never attempts to be much more than a high order crime entertainment while here one gets the sense a more intimate experience and greater emotional involvement is strived for yet never quite achieved. And, needless to say, Scorsese´s direction is much more slick and effective than the job this Joanou guy´s work here... and that final showdown, Peckinpah-style slo-mo, comes across as kind of cheesy, somewhat pretentious even. The Departed 8/10 vs State Of Grace 7/10.
"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan
State of Grace DESTROYS The Departed, which I was severely disappointed with.
Bottom line, you CARE about the characters in State Of Grace.
The Departed? Not so much. It lacks heart.