The Departed is the latest Martin Scorsese film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Jack Nicholson.

The story takes place in Boston, where the state police force is waging war on organized crime. Young undercover cop Billy Costigan Leonardo DiCaprio is assigned to infiltrate the mob syndicate run by gangland chief Costello Jack Nicholson. While Billy is quickly gaining Costello s confidence, Colin Sullivan Matt Damon, a hardened young criminal who has infiltrated the police department 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 gangsters and the police that there is 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.

The Departed is a 2006 American crime thriller film, fashioned as a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs.[2] The film was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan. Like Infernal Affairs before it, The Departed is noted for its star-studded cast, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, Anthony Anderson and Alec Baldwin. It won several awards, including Oscars at the 79th Academy Awards; Best Picture, Best Director (Scorsese), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Film Editing. Wahlberg was nominated for Best Supporting Actor but lost to Alan Arkin for his role in Little Miss Sunshine. The film takes place in Boston, Massachusetts, where Irish Mob boss Francis "Frank" Costello plants Colin Sullivan as an informant within the Massachusetts State Police. Simultaneously, the police assign undercover cop William "Billy" Costigan to infiltrate Costello's crew. When both sides realize the situation, each man attempts to discover the other's true identity before his own cover is blown.

Plot
Colin Sullivan (Damon) is introduced to organized crime by Irish mobster Frank Costello (Nicholson) in the Irish neighborhood of South Boston. Costello trains him to become a mole inside the Massachusetts State Police. Sullivan is accepted into the Special Investigations Unit, which focuses on organized crime. Before he graduates from the police academy, Billy Costigan (DiCaprio) is asked by Captain Queenan (Sheen) and Staff Sergeant Dignam (Wahlberg) to go undercover, as his family ties to organized crime make him a perfect infiltrator. He drops out of the academy and does time in prison on a fake assault charge to increase his credibility. As both infiltrate their respective organizations, Sullivan begins a romance with psychiatrist Madolyn Madden (Farmiga). Costigan sees her for his probation and also develops a relationship with her. After Costello escapes a sting operation, both moles become aware of the other's

existence. Sullivan is told to find the "rat" and asks Costello for information to determine who is the informer within his crew. Costigan follows Costello into a movie theater where Costello gives Sullivan an envelope. Costigan then chases Sullivan through Chinatown. When it is over, neither man knows the other's identity. Sullivan has Queenan tailed to a meeting with Costigan. Costello's men go in and Queenan is killed. When they exit, Costigan pretends he has come to join them. Later, Costello's henchman, Fitzgibbons (O'Hara), reveals that Delahunt, a crew member, was an undercover cop. Using Queenan's phone, Sullivan reaches Costigan, who refuses to abort his mission. Sullivan learns of Costello's role as an informant for the FBI from Queenan's diary, causing him to worry about his identity being revealed. With Costigan's help, Costello is traced to a cocaine drop-off, where a gunfight erupts between his crew and police, resulting in most of the crew being killed. Costello, confronted by Sullivan, admits he is an occasional FBI informant. Sullivan then shoots him multiple times. With Costello dead, Sullivan is applauded the next day by everyone on the force. In good faith, Costigan comes to him for restoration of his true identity, but notices an envelope containing details of Costello's men on Sullivan's desk and flees. Knowing he has been found out, Sullivan erases all records of Costigan from the police computer system. Madolyn tells Sullivan that she is pregnant, but does not reveal who the father is. Later, she discovers a package from Costigan containing a CD with recordings of Costello's conversations with Sullivan. Sullivan walks in as she is listening and tries unsuccessfully to assuage her suspicions. He contacts Costigan, who reveals that Costello recorded every conversation he had with Sullivan. Costello's attorney left Costigan in possession of the recordings and he intends to implicate Sullivan. They agree to meet at the building where Queenan died. On the roof, Costigan catches Sullivan off-guard and hand-cuffs him. As Costigan had secretly arranged, Officer Brown appears on the roof as well. Shocked, Brown draws his gun on Costigan, who attempts to justify his actions by exposing Sullivan as the rat. Costigan asks Brown why Dignam did not accompany him, but Brown does not answer. Costigan leads Sullivan to the elevator. When it reaches the ground floor, Costigan is shot in the head by Officer Barrigan, who then shoots Brown and reveals to Sullivan that Costello had more than one mole in the police. When Barrigan turns, Sullivan shoots him in the head. At police headquarters, Sullivan identifies Barrigan as the mole and has Costigan posthumously given the Medal of Merit. At Costigan's funeral, Sullivan and Madolyn stand at the grave. Sullivan attempts to talk to her, but she ignores him. Later, Sullivan enters his apartment, where Dignam, wearing hospital footies and surgical gloves, is aiming a silenced pistol at him. Dignam shoots Sullivan in the temple and exits the apartment. Film critic Stanley Kauffmann describes a major theme of The Departed as one of the oldest in dramathe concept of identityand how it "affects one's actions, emotions, self-assurance and even dreams."[3] The father-son relationship is a motif throughout the film. Costello acts as a father figure to both Sullivan and Costigan while Queenan acts as Costello's foil in the role of father-figure presenting

both sides of the Irish-American father archetype.[4] Sullivan refers to Costello as 'Dad' whenever he calls him to inform him of Police activities.

[edit] Reception
The Departed was highly anticipated, and was released on October 6, 2006 to universal acclaim. The film is one of the highest-rated wide release films of 2006 on Rotten Tomatoes at 93%.[5] Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "If they're lucky, directors make one classic film in their career. Martin Scorsese has one per decade (Taxi Driver in the '70s, Raging Bull in the '80s, Goodfellas in the '90s). His 2006 Irish Mafia masterpiece kept the streak alive."[6] Online critic James Berardinelli awarded the film four stars out of four, praising it as "an American epic tragedy." He went on to compare the film favorably to the onslaught of banality offered by American studios in recent years. "The movies have been in the doldrums lately. The Departed is a much needed tonic," he wrote. He went on to claim that the film deserves to be ranked alongside Scorsese's past successes, including Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas.[7] Andrew Lau, the co-director of Infernal Affairs, who was interviewed by Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily, said, "Of course I think the version I made is better, but the Hollywood version is pretty good too. [Scorsese] made the Hollywood version more attuned to American culture." Andy Lau[8], one of the main actors in Infernal Affairs, when asked how the movie compares to the original, said, "The Departed was too long and it felt as if Hollywood had combined all three Infernal Affairs movies together."[9] Lau pointed out that the remake featured some of the "golden quotes" of the original but did have much more swearing. He ultimately rated The Departed 8/10 and said that the Hollywood remake is worth a view, though "the effect of combining the two female characters in the [later film] into one isn't as good as in the original," according to Lau's spokeswoman Alice Tam.[10]
[edit] Top ten lists

DiCaprio plays Costigan, an undercover cop who has infiltrated an Irish crime syndicate headed by one Frank Costello (Nicholson). While the cops think they're finally getting a hold of Costello and building a case, little do they know that Costello has his own mole within the police force: a higher-up new recruit, Colin Sullivan (Damon). It becomes a battle of wits between these two; one cop pretending to be a mobster and one mobster pretending to be a cop. Neither knows the other's identity and each is always one step ahead of the other. It's cinematic suspense at its finest. The performances all around are terrific. Nicholson steals every scene he's in and is totally enjoyable to watch; even when he's torturing someone to death. DiCaprio's heartfelt passion for his role is very evident as he brings super amounts of emotion and depth to every scene (as he always does). Damon's character is a stiff, pompous son of a bitch that you just know you can't trust. He's brilliant and devious and it will get you frustrated every time you see him get the upper hand over somebody.

The side characters all work well too: Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg and most notably of the supporting cast, Alec Baldwin. He plays the asshole captain that although he's a good guy, you just love to hate him. Relative new comer Vera Farmiga (Running Scared) plays the love interest in the movie. Nothing special here, but she works and will probably have a decent carreer. Some of the actors do have a bit of a tough time convincing me of their Irish and/or Boston accents, but their characters are so enjoyable on all other fronts, that it's hardly noticeable or even important. One thing I love about Marty's movies is his lack of fear of anything. He's not afraid to use language that real people use. These Irish mobsters occasionally call people faggots and niggers. That's the way they talk and Scorsese isn't afraid to let that fly right into his lens and onto the screen. The aforementioned Baldwin is one of these characters that just let's it all hang out. Besides the language is Scorsese's obvious use of blood and killing in his films. The Departed is no different. The brutality in this film is nothing to scoff at and may make you jump in your seat on more than one occasion. It's part of what makes the film so gripping. Some of it is also, as I realize I'm becoming my father, unnecessary. On a personal note, the extremely lame version of Pink Floyd's masterpiece, "Comfortably Numb," was used during an extensive sequence about halfway through the movie. This really pissed me off. What is this garbage? It's a great song and the real thing should've been used. Not this.... whatever it is crap you can hear in the trailer (below). A nitpicking criticism that most people might not notice is the atrocious editing in this movie. It's so bad that I can't help but think it's intentional. The camera will switch shots from one character to another while they're having a conversation. The character that was previously on screen can now be seen in a completely different position and/or holding something they weren't holding an instant ago. This is a small but noticeable problem that just drove me nuts. Espescially in the first 45 minutes or so of the movie (update: The Departed wins best editing at the Oscars). My only other problem with the movie was the cop out (no pun intended) ending. I hated it. I'm not going to give it away, but the last 30 seconds of the movie ruined the greatness that was the previous 2 1/2 hours. It's the only thing keeping me from giving this movie 5 stars. I wish there had been something far more creative and alas, there was not. Scorsese fans will be happy with the finished product; though I think Marty will lose out on an Oscar once again this year (update: The Departed wins best director and picture at the Oscars = ridiculous). Great performances and an amazingly simple yet entertaining and suspenseful story will keep you entertained and it is most definitely worth the ten bucks. I just wish that the

ending could've held something a bit more clever. I would've expected more from someone as talented as Martin Scorsese.