Story sags in 'The Departed'

Unfortuantely, a lot of people only know how to communicate through verbal abuse--they think it's normal!

SCREEN SCENE: Stars sizzle but story sags in 'The Departed': "Mark Wahlberg plays a foul-mouthed sergeant who seems to feel that verbal abuse is the only form of communication.
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If "The Departed" is intended to depict a real American subculture, then it's depressing that there still exists such brutality, racism, homophobia and organized crime in a middle-class milieu. Taken as a work of fiction, it's a fascinating character study that might have been even more gripping set in an area with no cell coverage.