What really intrigued me about the movie was the script. I have never listened to a more continuous, repetitive and concentrated recital of four letter words, or ‘cuss words’ as they are called, as I did when viewing The Departed. In fact, if the script of the movie were to be subjected to a keyword analysis, these wonderful byproducts of the English language would romp home with a triumphant 75% density, with one particular expression, if one can call it that, taking a 95% lead over its siblings. The movie’s characters seemed to be speechless wonders who found it necessary to prefix and suffix almost every word and every action with these verbal gems.

The script of a mafia-cop story can hardly be expected to be a literary masterpiece. This is not My Fair Lady or Pride and Prejudice. Mafia hoodlums and cops speak less and shoot more, but that they would have such a limited vocabulary was somewhat surprising. One can even understand the four-letter fascination of the Boston mob, but that the education of the police force seems to have not gone beyond ‘abcd’ does seem a little intriguing.

But then, on the plus side, think of the advantages of such dialogue. The scriptwriters have no need to torture themselves trying to get appropriate words to express each emotion, or bury their heads in a thesaurus to hit on the exact etymological fit for any situation. The big plus with swear words is that they are multipurpose tools, they are like those homeowner’s all-in-one implements on telemarketing programs which can be used to do a mind-boggling variety of jobs. You can use a four-letter word to denote shock, frustration, disappointment, anger, irritation, amazement, boredom and a host of other feelings. Further, within the same emotion, there may be a variety of shades of intensity which normally need to be represented in a script; if, for example, a policeperson is irritated, he or she may actually be annoyed, irked, exasperated, piqued, impatient or grumpy. Or, if the mafia don is angry, he could be experiencing any of the numerous sentiments in the spectrum of anger such as enraged, incensed, displeased, offended, infuriated, or plain hopping mad. But, with one four letter word used as a synonym for all of these and more, the script writing function becomes so very easy and uncomplicated- you have said everything without splurging on words.

The actors, I’m sure, love the new methodology because they have to memorize so little dialogue, and even if they forget, they can say ‘abcd’ and be always in character. There is of course the additional bonus – the reader gets to figure out precisely what the character is expressing when he uses the expletive, so there you are, an extra interactive dimension of mystery and suspense added without any effort, and giving the viewer so much more for his money!

The only person in The Departed with a vocabulary of sorts is the police psychologist; but, tossed as she is eventually between the real policemen a.k.a false Mafioso and false policeman a.k.a real Mafioso, she seems to have more confusion to sort out for herself than for others. And, finally, at the end of her tether, she too succumbs to the lingua franca of the rest of the cast.

And I thought –‘The movie has made its point!’