The Departed - Cinematography
This scene is the intro to ‘the Departed’ directed by Martin Scorcese. It is a compression of time with narration by Costello that gives insight into some of the characters, mainly Costello himself and background information such as location.
It effectively establishes the position of the main characters and the public’s reaction of them, letting us know what the movie is going to be about.
I loved the camera work in this scene and the way Costello’s portrayed, he is later referred to as ‘the rockstar’ of the crime scene which is a really accurate description of his character.
The casual camera movements and laid back music make this scene feel quite relaxed, while at the same time we are kept in suspense as to the identity of Costello, as we are never given a well lit shot, or direct view of his face making him seem very mysterious. We are also in awe of Costello’s character, he is described later in the movie as a ‘rockstar’ and this is a very accurate description of his character, he is very dominant in his conversations with others, close ups on motives and seeming very carefree while there is obvious fear/intimidation on the faces and in the voices of the other characters.
DIALOGUE:
Envionment. She fell funny.
Scorcese uses dialogue very effectively to establish setting and character. “Envionment” Costello’s accent is very Irish “Southie” Boston, this suggests to us that the film is set in the poorer gang controlled area of Boston.
The dialogue also very effectively establishes Costello’s character, the Irish accent combined with the implication that we are in Boston and his total indifference to violence “She fell funny”, really strongly suggests that Costello is involved in the Crime Underworld. It also gives insight into his personality, he is a very ruthless, unemotional character, almost inhuman.
LIGHTING:
Convenience store, Murder, Quote.
Lighting is used to again give us insight into Costello’s character and create suspense as we
It effectively establishes the position of the main characters and the public’s reaction of them, letting us know what the movie is going to be about.
I loved the camera work in this scene and the way Costello’s portrayed, he is later referred to as ‘the rockstar’ of the crime scene which is a really accurate description of his character.
The casual camera movements and laid back music make this scene feel quite relaxed, while at the same time we are kept in suspense as to the identity of Costello, as we are never given a well lit shot, or direct view of his face making him seem very mysterious. We are also in awe of Costello’s character, he is described later in the movie as a ‘rockstar’ and this is a very accurate description of his character, he is very dominant in his conversations with others, close ups on motives and seeming very carefree while there is obvious fear/intimidation on the faces and in the voices of the other characters.
DIALOGUE:
Envionment. She fell funny.
Scorcese uses dialogue very effectively to establish setting and character. “Envionment” Costello’s accent is very Irish “Southie” Boston, this suggests to us that the film is set in the poorer gang controlled area of Boston.
The dialogue also very effectively establishes Costello’s character, the Irish accent combined with the implication that we are in Boston and his total indifference to violence “She fell funny”, really strongly suggests that Costello is involved in the Crime Underworld. It also gives insight into his personality, he is a very ruthless, unemotional character, almost inhuman.
LIGHTING:
Convenience store, Murder, Quote.
Lighting is used to again give us insight into Costello’s character and create suspense as we