The Departed (2006)

An undercover state cop who infiltrated a Mafia clan and a mole in the police force working for the same mob race to track down and identify each other before being exposed to the enemy, after both sides realize their outfit has a rat.

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writers:

William Monahan (screenplay), Alan Mak,

Stars:

Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson

Top 250 #51 | Won 4 Oscars. Another 62 wins & 62 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Leonardo DiCaprio	...	Billy
Matt Damon	...	Colin Sullivan
Jack Nicholson	...	Frank Costello
Mark Wahlberg	...	Dignam
Martin Sheen	...	Queenan
Ray Winstone	...	Mr. French
Vera Farmiga	...	Madolyn
Anthony Anderson	...	Trooper Brown
Alec Baldwin	...	Ellerby
Kevin Corrigan	...	Cousin Sean
James Badge Dale	...	Trooper Barrigan
David O'Hara	...	Fitzy (as David Patrick O'Hara)
Mark Rolston	...	Delahunt
Robert Wahlberg	...	Lazio - FBI
Kristen Dalton	...	Gwen

Storyline

In South Boston, the state police force is waging war on Irish-American organized crime. Young undercover cop Billy Costigan is assigned to infiltrate the mob syndicate run by gangland chief Frank Costello. While Billy quickly gains Costello's confidence, Colin Sullivan, a hardened young criminal who has infiltrated the state police as an informer for the syndicate, is rising to a position of power in the Special Investigation Unit. Each man becomes deeply consumed by his double life, gathering information about the plans and counter-plans of the operations he has penetrated. But when it becomes clear to both the mob and the police that there's a mole in their midst, Billy and Colin are suddenly in danger of being caught and exposed to the enemy-and each must race to uncover the identity of the other man in time to save himself. But is either willing to turn on the friends and comrades they've made during their long stints undercover?

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Plot Keywords:

police | undercover | state police | criminal | informer | 

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Taglines:

Unrestrained

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong brutal violence, pervasive language, some strong sexual content and drug material

Details

Official Sites:

TFM Distribution [fr] Warner Bros. [us]

Country:

USA Hong Kong

Language:

English Cantonese

Release Date:

6 October 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Los infiltrados

Filming Locations:

12 Farnsworth Street, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$90,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$121,183 (Chile) (17 November 2006)

Gross:

$132,373,442 (USA) (16 March 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Plan B Entertainment, Initial Entertainment Group (IEG)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

151 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Vera Farmiga's character is actually a composite of two from the Hong Kong original.

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Goofs

When Billy is arresting Colin, he says "you didn't come here to talk, you came here to get arrested" but his mouth is not moving.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Frank Costello: I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me. Years ago we had the church. That was only a way of saying - we had each other. The Knights of Columbus were real head-breakers; true guineas. They took over their piece of the city. Twenty years after an Irishman couldn't get a fucking job, we had the presidency. May he rest in peace. That's what the niggers don't realize. If I got one thing against the black chappies, it's this - no one ...

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Crazy Credits

The title doesn't appear on screen until nearly 20 minutes into the movie.

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Connections

Referenced in The Green Green Grass: The Departed (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Minstrel Boy"
Music Traditional, from an old Irish air
Performed by the N.Y.P.D. Emerald Society Pipes and Drums) (as NYPD Emerald Society Pipes and Drums)

User Reviews

Scorsese's best since Goodfellas!

He has made good musicals (New York, New York), surreal comedies (After Hours), satires (The King of Comedy) and biopics (The Aviator), but Martin Scorsese has never done better than the times he's dealt with life on the streets and gangsters. Mean Streets, Goodfellas and Casino (and, to some degree, Taxi Driver) are proof of that. It doesn't seem strange, then, that his finest film in over a decade (Goodfellas was released in 1990) sees him return to that familiar ground. With a few changes.

The Departed, based on Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs (2002), is Scorsese's first gangster film not to feature Italian-American criminals. In fact, this film is set in Boston, where the Irish rule. One of these "godfathers" is Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson), the man the State Police want the most. After years of investigation, they're finally getting close, thanks to undercover agent Billy Costigan (Leonardo Di Caprio). Because of his family (all Irish, all bad), becoming a member of Costello's crew isn't that difficult. Now all Costigan has to do is report to his superiors, Queenan (Martin Sheen) and Dignam (Mark Wahlberg), who will pass on the information to Ellerby's (Alec Baldwin) Special Investigations Unit. What they don't know is that Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), the most promising element of said unit, has been on Costello's payroll since he was 12. Soon enough, both cops and crooks become aware of the situation, beginning a manhunt that's gonna make the already fragile Billy even more nervous and Costello increasingly crazier.

By moving from Hong Kong to Boston, Scorsese and screenwriter William Monahan have made the first step in ensuring this film will be quite different from its Chinese inspiration. Another significant factor is the running time: a mere 97 minutes for Infernal Affairs, 150 for The Departed. This is due to new characters (Dignam and Costello's henchman Mr French, played by Ray Winstone, were missing in the original) and subplots, such as the one concerning Madolyn (Vera Farmiga), a psychiatrist who gets emotionally involved with both of the moles. But the most crucial difference is in the depiction of the underworld: whereas IA was stylish without being excessive, Scorsese's vision comprises very colorful language (some insults are so creative one might expect Joe Pesci to show up) and, of course, buckets of blood, the last part of the movie proving to be particularly shocking. None of the scenes ever reach the gross-out level of Casino's head-in-the-vice scene, but in pure Scorsese tradition it remains unflinchingly violent (also notable is the music, perfectly setting the mood, scene after scene, alongside Thelma Schoonmaker's impeccable editing).

Amidst these brutal surroundings, the director handles a spot-on cast: Baldwin, Sheen and Wahlberg (the latter finally back on form) make good use of their little screen time, Damon fine-tunes the edgier side he showed in The Talented Mr Ripley and the Bourne movies, and Nicholson, playing the villain again at last, delivers another OTT but classy turn (original choice Robert De Niro would probably have played the part with more calm and subtlety). A special mention is needed for Di Caprio: working with Scorsese for the third consecutive time, he has finally found a way to shake off his Titanic image, thanks to a vulnerable, gripping (and arguably career-best) performance.

With its clever plot, excellent acting and expert direction, The Departed is without doubt the year's best film so far. If this really is going to be his last gangster film (he has said so), as well as his last studio-endorsed picture, Scorsese can be proud, given the masterpiece he has given us. If only they gave him the Oscar in return...