Having screened these two films lately, some points have come to light. One can’t help but remark how much cinema has decayed lately. Unlike other recent films, The Departed was driven by skill on-screen and behind the camera instead of special effects — the plot was compelling throughout and genuinely surprising.
Likewise, M was thoroughly entertaining despite its technical limitations. Fritz Lang created a screenplay that was both dramatic and humorous, employed innovative camera angles, and benefited from several strong performances. Both stand out among the greatest ever in stark contrast to the sea of mediocrity that most films released today fall into.
The films also illustrate the parallels between good and evil, which appear to mirror each other at times. The protagonists are villains by most objective standards yet moral relativity engenders sympathy for the devil. The actors and directors allow the audience to see both perspectives of the same situation and actions that are particularly wrong somehow seem justified.
When a child serial killed stalks the town, M’s underworld cannot operate amidst the police crackdown. Consequently, the mafia and the beggar’s union begin tracking the killer, matching law enforcement efforts. In order to restore some sort of justice at the conclusion of The Departed, the police stray to the other side.
Clearly there are no absolutes. When the underworld apprehends the child killer, they hold a trial and provide the suspect with a lawyer. Peter Lorre pleads to save his life and almost convince the film’s viewers that he is right. Who knows what happens at the end of Martin Scorsese’s Oscar winner but the outcome appears to be roughly even, perhaps moderately just.