The Departed (2006)

An undercover state cop who has infiltrated an Irish gang 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 #46 | Won 4 Oscars. Another 86 wins & 77 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?

---

Plot Keywords:

boston | police | undercover | mole | mobster | 

---

Taglines:

Lies. Betrayal. Sacrifice. How far will you take it?

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

---

Certificate:

18A

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook TFM Distribution [France]

Country:

USA Hong Kong

Language:

English Cantonese

Release Date:

6 October 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Agents troubles

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

Originally Brad Pitt was cast as Colin Sullivan, but later dropped out to work with Alejandro González Iñárritu in Babel (2006). He continued to produce the film under his (and his then wife Jennifer Aniston's) production company, Plan B.

---

Goofs

When Frank picks up a Bic lighter at the luncheonette counter after talking to young Collin, you can see the "BIC" in yellow on the plastic part of the lighter. Bic didn't mark their lighters on the plastic until a few years ago.

---

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 ...

---

Crazy Credits

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

---

Connections

Referenced in The Supermarket (2009)

---

Soundtracks

Scotland The Brave
Traditional
Performed by the N.Y.P.D. Emerald Society Pipes and Drums) (as NYPD Emerald Society Pipes and Drums)

User Reviews

Best Scorsese Film. Period.

Oh my God.

I can say without overstatement that I just saw the most gripping and entertaining American film to come out in at least the past ten years.

I was lucky enough to get a pass to an advance screening of The Departed this past weekend in Boston. I wasn't sure what to expect and actually planned on being a little disappointed with all the expectations and hype of such an all-star cast.

From the moment the opening credits came up, the movie grabbed me by the neck, ripped me out of my seat and didn't let go until the final scene.

Each performance is more masterful than the next. Damon was a tour de force as the lead, tapping every ounce of his acting reservoir for this role. Nicholson creates another classic role to add to his already sterling resume. His mob boss would almost steal every scene he was in, if it not for every other actor being so fantastic However, the biggest surprise for me personally came from Leonardo DeCaprio.

Having never warmed up to any of his roles or movies, I found myself blown away by him in this. I'm not sure if it was the material he was given, or if DeCaprio has grown this much as an actor, or a combination of both, but he finally won me over with his role in this instant Scorsese classic. Every character is pitch perfect, every scene is right on the money. The plot builds to a crescendo of such dynamic proportions rarely seen on film. I don't want to give too much away, but I'm still shaken from the ride I was taken on.

People go to the movies in the hopes that maybe once in a hundred times you get to experience storytelling so masterful and transcendent that it changes the way you view cinema. This is one of those spectacularly perfect times.

Forget Taxi Driver. Forget Raging Bull. Forget Goodfellas. As much as I LOVE those movies and as much as they have affected me in my lifetime, The Departed will hands down be Martin Scorsese's Master Work.