The film takes place in Boston and the surrounding metro area, primarily in theSouth Boston neighborhood.Irish Mob boss Frank Costello (Nicholson) plants Colin Sullivan (Damon) as a spy within theMassachusetts State Police; simultaneously, the police assignundercover state trooper Billy Costigan (DiCaprio)to infiltrate Costello's mob crew. When both sides realize the situation, Sullivan and Costigan each attempt to discover the other's identity before they are found out.
In 1980sBoston,Irish mob boss Frank Costello introduces himself to a young Colin Sullivan. Years later, Sullivan has been groomed as Costello's spy inside theMassachusetts State Police (MSP) and joins the Special Investigation Unit. Another police academy recruit, Billy Costigan, is selected by Captain Queenan and Sergeant Dignam to infiltrate Costello's organization.
Serving a prison term as hiscover, Costigan draws Costello's attention by committing several crimes, and is recruited into the gang. His mental state declines as he becomes increasingly involved in Costello's violent criminal enterprise, but Queenan and Dignam convince him to remain undercover. Sullivan begins dating police psychiatrist Madolyn Madden, who becomes Costigan's court-ordered therapist.
Costigan tips off the MSP that Costello will be selling stolenmicroprocessors to Chinese mobsters, but Sullivan helps thwart the attempted sting operation. Costello and the MSP both realize they have been compromised, and Costigan and Sullivan are each tasked to find the opposingmole. Costigan learns that Costello is a protectedFBIinformant, sharing his discovery with Queenan. He and Madden begin an affair.
Following Costello, Costigan sees him give Sullivan an envelope of information on his crew. Costigan is unable to identify Sullivan, who realizes he is being followed and mistakenly stabs a passerby before fleeing. Lying to his fellow officers to have Queenan followed, Sullivan realizes Queenan is meeting with his mole, and informs Costello's gang. Costigan, fearing he will be discovered and killed for being the mole, meets with Queenan to abort the operation. However, Queenan helps Costigan escape as Costello's men arrive, and is thrown from the building to his death. Fatally wounded in the ensuing firefight with police, Costello's henchman Timothy Delahunt tells Costigan that he knows he is the mole before dying.
In the wake of Queenan's murder, Dignam is suspended after an altercation with Sullivan, who learns from Queenan's files that Costello is cooperating with the FBI. A news report identifies Delahunt as aBoston Police Department undercover officer, but Costello suspects this is a ruse to protect the real mole. Sullivan directs the MSP to tail Costello, resulting in a gunfight that kills most of Costello's crew. Sullivan confronts a wounded Costello, who admits to being an informant. They exchange gunfire, and Sullivan kills him.
His assignment finished, Costigan reveals himself to Sullivan, but recognizes Costello's envelope on his desk, deducing that Sullivan is Costello's mole. Costigan flees, and Sullivan realizes he has discovered the truth, deleting Costigan's police records. Costigan leaves an envelope of evidence with Madden, who finds a recording he mailed to Sullivan of Sullivan's incriminating conversations with Costello.
Meeting Sullivan on the rooftop where Queenan was killed, Costigan arrests him. Trooper Brown, Costigan's police academy classmate, arrives as Costigan holds Sullivan at gunpoint, declaring that he has evidence tying Sullivan to Costello. Taking the elevator to the lobby, Costigan is shot dead by Trooper Barrigan, who reveals he is another one of Costello's spies in the MSP. Brown is shot by Barrigan, who in turn is shot by Sullivan, framing Barrigan as Costello's only mole.
Sullivan recommends Costigan be posthumously commended, but after Costigan's funeral, a pregnant Madden leaves him. He arrives home to find Dignam, who shoots him and departs.
In March 2004,United Press International announced that Scorsese would be remakingInfernal Affairs and setting it in Boston, and that Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt were slated to star.[16] Pitt, tentatively scheduled to play Sullivan, later declined to play the role, saying a younger actor should play the part; he decided to produce the film instead.[15] Scorsese's associateKenneth Lonergan suggested Matt Damon, who grew up in Boston, for the part of Sullivan, and Scorsese asked Jack Nicholson to play Costello.[8]Robert De Niro was approached to play Queenan, but De Niro declined in order to directThe Good Shepherd instead.[17] Scorsese would later say that De Niro turned down the role as he was not interested.[18]Ray Liotta was approached for a role in the film, but declined due to a commitment to another project.[19]
Nicholson wanted the film to have "something a little more" than the usual gangster film, and screenwriter Monahan came up with the idea of basing the Costello character on Irish-American gangsterWhitey Bulger. This gave the screenplay an element of realism—and an element of dangerous uncertainty, because of the wide-rangingcarte blanche the FBI gave Bulger in exchange for revealing information about fellow gangsters.[8] A technical consultant on the film was Tom Duffy, who had served three decades on the Boston Police Department, particularly as an undercover detective investigating the Irish mob.[20][21]
The Departed was officially greenlit by Warner Bros. in early 2005 and shooting began on April 18 of that year.[14] Some of the film was shot on location in Boston. For budgetary and logistical reasons many scenes, in particular interiors, were shot in locations and sets in New York City, which had tax incentives for filmmakers that Boston at the time did not.[8][22]
Warner Bros. Pictures acquired worldwide distribution rights to the film excluding the U.K., Ireland, France, Belgium, Italy, the CIS, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. IEG sold the film toEntertainment Film Distributors in the U.K. and Ireland, TFM Distribution in France,Medusa Distribuzione in Italy,Belga Films in Belgium,Central Partnership in Russia and Ukraine, Media Asia Distribution in China and Hong Kong and Long Shong in Taiwan.
Film criticStanley Kauffmann said that forThe Departed, Scorsese "was apparently concerned with the idea of identity, one of the ancient themes of drama, and how it affects one's actions, emotions, self-knowledge, even dreams." Kauffmann, however, did not find the theme conveyed with particular effectiveness in the film.[23] Film criticRoger Ebert compared Costigan and Sullivan's seeking of approval from those they are deceiving toStockholm syndrome.[24] Ebert also noted the themes ofCatholic guilt.[24]
In the final scene, a rat is seen on Sullivan's window ledge. Scorsese acknowledges that while it is not meant to be taken literally, it somewhat symbolizes the "quest for the rat" in the film and the strong sense of distrust among the characters, much like post-9/11 U.S. The window view behind the rat is a nod to gangster films likeLittle Caesar (1931),Scarface (1932), andWhite Heat (1949).[25] The film's penultimate scene at Costigan's funeral, when Madden walks straight past Sullivan and out of camera without looking at him, is a visual quotation of the closing scene fromThe Third Man.
Throughout the film, Scorsese uses an "X" motif to foreshadow death in a manner similar toHoward Hawks' filmScarface (1932). Examples include shots of cross-beam supports in an airport walkway when Costigan is phoning Sgt. Dignam, the lighted "X" on the wall in Sullivan's office when he assures Costello over the phone that Costigan is not the rat, the taped windows of the building Queenan enters before being thrown to his death, behind Costigan's head in the elevator before he is shot, and the carpeted hallway floor when Sullivan returns to his apartment before being shot by Dignam at the film's end.[26]
The Departed grossed $132.4 million in the United States and Canada and $159 million in other territories for a total gross of $291.5 million, against a production budget of $90 million.[2]
The film grossed $26.9 million in its opening weekend, becoming the fourth Scorsese film to debut at number one.[27] It is the latest Best Picture winner to debut atop the box office. In the following three weeks the film grossed $19 million, $13.5 million and $9.8 million, finishing second at the box office each time, before grossing $7.7 million and dropping to 5th in its fifth week.[28]
As per thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 91% of critics have givenThe Departed a positive review based on 285 reviews, with an average rating of 8.30/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Featuring outstanding work from an excellent cast,The Departed is a thoroughly engrossing gangster drama with the gritty authenticity and soupy morality we have come to expect from Martin Scorsese."[29] OnMetacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 85 out of 100, with 92% positive reviews based on 39 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[30] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[31]
Entertainment Weekly ranked 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."[32]
Roger Ebert gave the film four stars out of four, praising Scorsese for thematically differentiating his film from the original.[24] Online criticJames Berardinelli awarded the film four stars out of four, praising it as "an American epic tragedy." He went on to claim that the film deserves to be ranked alongside Scorsese's past successes, includingTaxi Driver,Raging Bull andGoodfellas.[33]
Andrew Lau, co-director ofInfernal Affairs, in an interview with Hong Kong newspaperApple 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."[34]Andy Lau, one of the main actors inInfernal 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 threeInfernal Affairs movies together."[35] Although Lau said the script of the remake had some "golden quotes," he also felt it had a bit too much profanity. He ultimately ratedThe Departed eight out of ten and said that the Hollywood remake is worth a view, though according to Lau's spokeswoman Alice Tam, he felt that the combination of the two female characters into one inThe Departed was not as good as the original storyline.[36]
A few critics were disappointed in the film, includingJ. Hoberman of theVillage Voice, who wrote: "Infernal Affairs was surprisingly cool and effectively restrained for HK action, but Scorsese raises the temperature with every ultraviolent interaction. The surplus of belligerence and slur reach near-Tarantinian levels—appropriate as he's staking a claim to QT's turf."[37]
The film marked the first time Scorsese won an Oscar after five previous losses.[43] Many felt that he deserved it years earlier for prior efforts. Some felt he deserved it for his prior nominations and the win was described as a "Lifetime Achievement Award for a lesser film".[44] Scorsese himself joked that he won because: "This is the first movie I've done with a plot."[45]
The Departed was released byWarner Home Video onDVD,HD-DVD, andBlu-ray disc on February 13, 2007. The film is available in a single-disc full screen (1.33:1), single-disc widescreen (2.39:1) edition, and 2-disc special edition. The second disc contains deleted scenes, a feature about the influence of New York'sLittle Italy on Scorsese, aTurner Classic Movies profile, a theatrical trailer, and a 21-minute documentary titledStranger Than Fiction: The True Story of Whitey Bulger, Southie and The Departed[51] about the crimes that influenced Scorsese in creating the film, including the story ofJames "Whitey" Bulger, upon whom Jack Nicholson's character is based.[52] The film was released onUltra HD Blu-ray on April 23, 2024.
Scorsese described the music as "a very dangerous and lethal tango" and cited the guitar-based score ofMurder by Contract and thezither inThe Third Man as inspiration.[55]
The film also quotes significantly from Donizetti's operaLucia di Lammermoor. Frank Costello is seen listening to the famous sextet from Act 2 of the opera, and has its theme as his phone ringtone.
Although many key characters in the film die by the end, there was a script written for a sequel. This was ultimately shelved due to the expense and Scorsese's lack of interest in creating sequels.[56] This differs from the originalInfernal Affairs, which has a prequel and a sequel to tie up loose ends.
^BBFC."The Departed".www.bbfc.co.uk. Archived fromthe original on January 4, 2022. RetrievedJanuary 4, 2022.THE DEPARTED is a US gangster thriller in which a cop goes undercover with the Irish Mafia in Boston, who in turn have a informant working inside the police department.
^"2007".Oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. October 7, 2014.Archived from the original on April 17, 2018. RetrievedFebruary 22, 2016.
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