THE DEPARTED - From An Analytical Perspective

There were several things I noticed about this movie:

# 1 - Double-Weave Scenes
Rarely throughout the whole movie will one scene play by itself. There's almost always two scenes playing simoultaenously throughout the movie, and the film switches between the two every 10-30 seconds. It keeps you interested in two narratives at the same time. But the movie also uses the one scene style, such as the chase scene in the streets, or the final scene at the rooftop building.

# 2 - Cut-Out-Scenes
Every movie does this: they cut out the in-between scenes and you just assume that when they showed the protaganist call the cab, he rode home, even though they resume the scene at his front door. But in the Departed, they take it to another level. Along with the double-weave scenes, they cut out large portions of what you might call "unnecessary" segments. By doing this, the action moves much faster, and all the filler scenes are removed. It's confusing sometimes, but it gets you right into the action.

# 3 - Don't Answer Questions
The movie throws in many subplots and questions about all the characters, and never fully answers them. SPOILERS Was Jack Nicholson really an FBI informant? Was that other Mafia member really a second undercover cop? How did Mark Whalberg know to kill Matt Damon? And more.
But the movie doesn't answer these, in full at least. The movie is so fast paced and moving from scene to scene, you barely have time to think about these questions, before a whole new stage is set.

# 4 - 150 Minutes = Not Long
The movie is 2 hours and 30 minutes long, yet it is one of the most fast-paced movies I have ever scene. You can owe that to the directing style.