The Departed

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The Departed
Directed by	Martin Scorsese
Produced by	Brad Grey Graham King Roy Lee Brad Pitt
Written by	Story: Felix Chong Siu Fai Mak Screenplay: William Monahan
Starring	Leonardo DiCaprio Matt Damon Jack Nicholson Mark Wahlberg Martin Sheen Ray Winstone Vera Farmiga Anthony Anderson Alec Baldwin
Music by	Howard Shore
Cinematography	Michael Ballhaus
Editing by	Thelma Schoonmaker
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures (and worldwide with exceptions) Entertainment Film Distributors TFM Distribution Long Shong Entertainment Multimedia Company Medusa Distribuzione
Release date(s)	October 6, 2006
Running time	151 min.
Language	English
Budget	$90,000,000
Official website
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Departed is an Academy Award-winning 2006 film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, and Alec Baldwin. A remake of the popular 2002 Hong Kong crime thriller Infernal Affairs by Andrew Lau and Siu Fai Mak, the film's screenplay was adapted by William Monahan from the original script written by Felix Chong and Siu Fai Mak.

The film takes place in Boston, Massachusetts, where Irish mob kingpin Frank Costello implants Colin Sullivan as an informant within the Massachusetts State Police. Simultaneously, the police assign Billy Costigan to infiltrate Costello's crew. When both sides of the law realize the situation, the two men are dispatched to discover each other's identities.

The film was a critical and commercial success, ultimately grossing over $132 million in the United States, $286 million worldwide and receiving four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Martin Scorsese, which was the first win of his career. A prequel and sequel are in the making.^{[citation needed]}

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Themes 4 Soundtrack music 4.1 Music from the Motion Picture album 4.2 Original Score album 5 Boston setting 6 Reception 7 DVD release 8 Awards and nominations 9 See also 10 Notes 11 External links

[edit] Plot

The movie begins in the 1970s in South Boston during the Boston race riots, when Irish mob boss Francis "Frank" Costello (Jack Nicholson) takes very young Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) under his wing preparing him to be a mole for his crew. Years later, the audience finds Sullivan training for the Massachusetts State Police, with classmates, including Barrigan (James Badge Dale). Brown (Anthony Anderson) and Billy Costigan (Leonardo Dicaprio) are similar classmates on another class. Meanwhile, the cool and collected Captain Oliver Queenan (Martin Sheen) and the aggressive and foul mouthed Staff Sergeant Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) of the Undercover Division assign Costigan to infiltrate Costello's crew.

Sullivan is soon promoted to the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) headed by the humorous Captain Ellerby (Alec Baldwin). Costigan gains notice of Costello and becomes a member of his crew. Meanwhile, Sullivan begins a romantic relationship with criminal psychiatrist Madolyn Madden (Vera Farmiga), who is also having sessions with Costigan as a part of his probation for assault. Unknown to Sullivan, Costigan begins a relationship with Madolyn.

During one of his heists, Costello, through Sullivan, discovers that there is a police informer in his organization. In order to catch the insider, he requires each member of his organization to fill in his particulars in a form, including social security numbers. Costigan (the insider) knows that this envelope will end up at the hands of Costello's man in the police. He follows Costello (who has the envelope) into a porno theater, where he witnesses Costello handing over the envelope to the police mole (Sullivan), whose face is hidden in the dark theater. In order to discover the mole's identity, Costigan shadows him into the streets, only to lose him.

Meanwhile, Sullivan is assigned to uncover the mole in SIU, who is of course himself. This makes for some tension between Sullivan and Dignam, who accuses Sullivan of being the mole in the SIU. Above suspicion, he focuses instead on finding the police snitch in Costello's crew.

In the interests of finding the undercover agent in Costello's crew, Sullivan orders the SIU to follow Queenan, eventually following him to a meeting of Queenan and Costigan on the rooftop of a run-down building. Sullivan tells Costello's men that the snitch is at the building. As Costello's men approach, Costigan is able to flee, but Queenan is captured, and thrown off the building to his death.

At the police precinct, there's a fist fight between Dignam and Sullivan over Queenan's death and Sullivan orders Dignam to hand over the information on his undercover, after which Dignam refuses so he is ordered two weeks off with pay. Still trying to find the police mole in Costello's crew, Sullivan calls Costigan with Queenan's phone pretending to be the new agent assigned to the latter's case. A few days later, Costello and his crew are tailed to an old warehouse where they aim to retrieve drugs. When Costello demands it, Sullivan disengages the tails and instead sets up a police ambush at the scene. Costello's entire main crew is killed in the ensuing shoot-out, Costigan slips away; Costello also escapes only to be confronted by Sullivan himself. Costello confirms that he is a FBI informant, after which Sullivan shoots and kills him.

Back at the station, Costigan finds incriminating evidence on Sullivan's desk and flees. Costigan later sends Sullivan recordings of Sullivan and Costello's conversations, with a phone number. Madolyn hears one of these recordings and ends her relationship with Sullivan. Sullivan calls the phone number and speaks to Costigan, who reveals to Sullivan that Costello was the source of the recordings, which Costello kept as insurance to use as a possible legal immunity if he was arrested. They arrange to meet.

On the rooftop where Queenan was killed, a hysterical Costigan confronts and handcuffs Sullivan. Trooper Brown appears and Costigan takes Sullivan hostage while Brown tries to talk Costigan down. Costigan tells Brown that Sullivan is the mole and has proof before fleeing into an elevator with Sullivan. The elevator stops, and just as Costigan leaves the elevator backup trooper Barrigan shoots and kills Costigan, and then kills Trooper Brown. Barrigan reveals to Sullivan that he is the second mole in the Massachusetts State Police, and that they need to work together. As Barrigan is manipulating the crime scene Sullivan shoots Barrigan. Sullivan later blames everything on Barrigan and recommends Costigan for the Medal of Merit for supposedly saving his life.

Sullivan attends Costigan's funeral, where a tearful Madolyn shuns him. Much later, Sullivan returns home to find Dignam waiting in his apartment, who shoots him dead and leaves. As the film ends, the camera pans out, as a lone rat crawls across the balcony railing, silhouetted against the gold dome of the Massachusetts State House.

[edit] Cast

Actor	Role	Equivalent Role in Infernal Affairs (Hong Kong 2002)
Leonardo DiCaprio	Billy Costigan	Chan Wing Yan (Tony Leung)
Matt Damon	Colin Sullivan	Lau Kin Ming (Andy Lau)
Jack Nicholson	Frank Costello	Hon Sam (Eric Tsang)
Mark Wahlberg	Staff Sgt. Bryce Dignam	Combination of Superintendent Luk Kai Cheung (Hu Jun) from Infernal Affairs II and Superintendent Yeung Kam Wing (Leon Lai) from Infernal Affairs III
Martin Sheen	Capt. Charlie Queenan	Wong Chi Shing (Anthony Wong Chau-Sang)
Vera Farmiga	Madolyn Madden	Combination of Lee Shum Yee (Kelly Chen) and Mary (Sammi Cheng)
Alec Baldwin	Capt. George Ellerby	Inspector Ng (Ng Ting Yip)
Ray Winstone	Arnold French	N/A
Anthony Anderson	Special Agent Brown	N/A
James Badge Dale	Agent Barrigan	Inspector Lam Kwok Ping "B" (Lam Ka Tung)
Robert Wahlberg	FBI Agent Frank Lazio	N/A
David O'Hara	Fitzy	Del Piero (Dion Lam)
Mark Rolston	Timothy "I'm a cop, bitches!" Delahunt	Keung (Chapman To)

[edit] Themes

Film critic Stanley Kauffman describes a major theme of The Departed as one of the oldest in drama—the concept of identity—and how it "affects one's actions, emotions, self-knowledge, even dreams."^[1]

The father-son relationship is a theme throughout the film. Costello acts as a father figure to both Sullivan and Costigan and Queenan acts as Costello's foil in the role of father-figure presenting both sides of the Irish-American father archetype.^[2]

[edit] Soundtrack music

There were two albums released for The Departed, one presenting the original score composed for the movie by Howard Shore, and the other featuring earlier recordings, mostly pop/rock songs, which were used on the soundtrack.

[edit] Music from the Motion Picture album

The Departed
Soundtrack by Various Artists
Released	November 7, 2006
Genre	Rock Film music Country Pop
Label	Warner Sunset
Producer(s)	Jason Cienkus
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link

The movie opens with "Gimmie Shelter" by The Rolling Stones and prominently plays "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" by Dropkick Murphys. It also features a live version of "Comfortably Numb" by Roger Waters and Van Morrison from the 1991 Berlin Wall Concert.

Although "Gimmie Shelter" is featured in the film, the song isn't on the album soundtrack. Also heard in the movie but not featured on the soundtrack is "Thief's Theme" by Nas, "Well Well Well" by John Lennon and the Act II Sextet from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor.

Tracklisting

1. "Comfortably Numb" (Roger Waters Feat. Van Morrison and The Band, version from The Wall Concert in Berlin) – 7:59
2. "Sail on, Sailor" (Beach Boys) – 3:18
3. "Gimme Shelter" (Rolling Stones) – 5:18
4. "Sweet Dreams" (Roy Buchanan) – 3:32
5. "One Way Out" (Allman Brothers Band) – 4:57
6. "Baby Blue" (Badfinger) – 3:36
7. "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" (Dropkick Murphys) – 2:34
8. "Nobody But Me" (Human Beinz) – 2:18
9. "Tweedle Dee" (LaVern Baker) – 3:10
10. "Sweet Dreams (Of You)" (Patsy Cline) – 2:34
11. "The Departed Tango" (Howard Shore, Marc Ribot) – 3:32
12. "Beacon Hill" (Howard Shore, Sharon Isbin) – 2:33

[edit] Original Score album

The Departed
Soundtrack by Howard Shore
Released	December 5, 2006
Genre	Soundtracks Film music
Label	New Line
Producer(s)	Jason Cienkus
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link

The film score for The Departed was written by Howard Shore and performed by guitarists Sharon Isbin, G.E. Smith, Larry Saltzman and Marc Ribot.

Tracklisting

1. "Cops or Criminals" – 2:01
2. "344 Wash" – 2:03
3. "Beacon Hill" – 2:36
4. "The Faithful Departed" – 3:01
5. "Colin" – 2:09
6. "Madolyn" – 2:14
7. "Billy's Theme" – 6:58
8. "Command" – 3:15
9. "Chinatown" – 3:16
10. "Boston Common" – 2:53
11. "Miss Thing" – 1:45
12. "The Baby" – 2:48
13. "The Last Rites" – 3:05
14. "The Departed Tango" – 3:38

[edit] Boston setting

Born to an Irish family in nearby Dorchester, Massachusetts, William Monahan (who adapted the screenplay from Infernal Affairs) incorporates the culture and history of Boston heavily into the film. The first images are news clips from the busing riots of the 1970s, over which Costello muses about the city's troubled racial history. Several times, Dignam refers to Costigan as "lace curtain", a term used primarily in the Boston metropolitan area by working-class Irish-Americans and Italian-Americans to disparage upper-middle class Irish-Americans and Italian-Americans who have strayed from their roots. The majority of the characters have the non-rhotic Boston accent (a native of Cambridge, Matt Damon also incorporated the accent into his character in his 1997 film Good Will Hunting). Despite the tendency of films to use generic phone numbers, Boston's 617 area code can be clearly seen on various characters' cell phones. The Massachusetts State House is also featured in the film as a symbol of Colin Sullivan's ambition. Boston Red Sox apparel is seen and worn. Costello and his gang drive over the Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge in one scene. The building off which Queenan is thrown (and where Costigan and Sullivan later meet) is in Boston's North End with the downtown skyline as backdrop. The John Hancock Tower is referenced by Costello. The film includes the song "I'm Shipping Up To Boston" by the Dropkick Murphys, an Irish-American punk rock band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts. Other references include state locations such as Route 128, regions such as the North Shore, there is a shot of the Park Street and South Station MBTA Red Line stops, local towns such as Brockton, Worcester, Gloucester, and Somerville while having turf wars with crew from nearby Providence, a cameo by the Lynn police, mention of the Dedham Mall (located in Dedham just south of Boston), and state slang like "Staties", a local nickname for Massachusetts State Police troopers. Also, Deerfield Academy, a boarding school in Deerfield, MA, is referenced when Dignam points out that Costigan was expelled from the school after assaulting the gym teacher.

The character Frank Costello was largely based on James "Whitey" Bulger, a real life Irish-American mobster in Boston; Whitey was believed to have been seen coming out of a theater showing the film in San Diego in November 2006.^[3][4] Matt Damon's character is based on John Connolly, the FBI agent who tipped off Bulger for years, allowing him to evade arrest. In real life, Bulger went into hiding and is still presumed to be at large; Connolly is currently imprisoned for his role in Bulger's criminal activities. Costigan's undercover role as a former State trooper who joins the Irish mob parallels the story of Richard Marinick, a former State trooper who later joined Whitey Bulger's crime syndicate. Costigan also lives in Somerville, where Bulger's Winter Hill Gang began.

[edit] Reception

The Departed was highly anticipated when it was released on October 6, 2006 to overwhelmingly positive reviews. The film is currently one of the highest-rated wide release films of 2006 on Rotten Tomatoes at 93%,^[5] the sixth highest on Metacritic, and the twelfth highest on Yahoo! All-Time Top Movies (as determined by users).^[6] As of March 22, 2007, The Departed is also the 2nd highest-rated film of 2006 on IMDb's Top 250, coming in at #68 in the all-time rankings,^[7] and is among the highest-rated films of the decade on IMDb's "Best of the 2000s" List at #15.^[8]

Popular 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 also went on to claim that the film deserves to be ranked alongside Scorsese's past successes, including Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas.^[9] Indeed, many critics such as Berardinelli felt that the film will eventually be recognized as Scorsese's masterpiece of the 2000s, as the previously mentioned films are considered masterpieces of their respective decades.

However, Los Angeles Time Critic Kenneth Turan was unimpressed with The Departed, giving the film only two stars, calling it one of Scorsese's weaker films.

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, 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."^[10] 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 original into one isn't as good as in the original", according to Lau's spokeswoman Alice Tam.^[11]

The film also evoked some controversy in Boston. Michael Patrick MacDonald, author of the Southie memoirs All Souls and Easter Rising, wrote an op-ed piece for The Boston Globe^[12] praising the film's ability to recreate the "strangulating" culture created by Boston gangsters, politicians, and law enforcement officials at all levels of local, state, and federal government - a culture of violent death and silence that led to years of young suicides and an epidemic of painkilling through heroin and Oxycontin. The op-ed piece caused a stir in Boston, eliciting a missive from a South Boston state senator as well as letters from South Boston real estate agents concerned about the "negative" depiction of the "trendy" neighborhood of South Boston.^{[citation needed]}

The film grossed $26,887,467 in its opening weekend, becoming the first Scorsese film to debut at #1. The film saw small declines in later weeks, remaining in the list of top ten films for seven weeks. The film has grossed $132,384,315 as of March 22, 2007 and grossed $287,887,315 worldwide. Budgeted at $90 million, the film is believed to be the most commercially successful of Scorsese's features and is his highest-grossing film to date, easily besting The Aviator's previous record of $102.6 million.

The film won four Academy Awards at the 79th Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director (Martin Scorsese), Best Film Editing (Thelma Schoonmaker), and Best Adapted Screenplay (William Monahan). Mark Wahlberg was also nominated for the Best Supporting Actor award for his performance.

[edit] DVD release

The Departed was released by Warner Brothers on DVD on February 13, 2007 in Region 1 format and on February 19, 2007 in Region 2 format, and has also been released on March 14, 2007 in Region 4 format. The film is available in a single-disc full screen (1:33:1), single-disc widescreen (2:40:1) edition, and 2-disc special edition. Three subtitle tracks are available: English, Spanish, French. The three available audio tracks are: English, Spanish, and French, all of which are in Dolby Digital 5.1. The film was also released on HD DVD and Blu-ray at the same time as the standard-definition DVD. The features on the 2-disc include:

Disc 1:

• Film presented in widescreen (2:40:1).
• Theatrical trailer.

Disc 2:

• Scorsese on Scorsese: A Turner Classic Movies feature-length profile of Martin Scorsese.
• The Story Of The Boston Mob: Video feature on the real life criminal that Jack Nicholson portrayed.
• Crossing Criminal Cultures: Unique featurette on how Little Italy's crime and violence was influential to Scorsese's films
• Additional scenes: With commentary by the director.

Blu-Ray:

• Contains all the Special Features of the 2-disc Standard Definition DVD
• 1080p high definition 16x9 2.40
• BD-50
• PCM English 5.1 (Uncompressed PCM Audio)

HD-DVD:

• Contains all the Special Features of the 2-disc Standard Definition DVD
• HD-30/9C
• Dolby TrueHD English 5.1, Dolby Digital Plus English 5.1, Dolby Digital Plus French 5.1, Dolby Digital Plus Spanish 5.1 (Based off the new Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD)
• Combination Disc (1080p High Definition and 480p Standard Definition)

Moreover, Future Shop and Best Buy stores released limited edition steelbook DVD packaging that contains all the features of the 2-disc version, plus some postcards. An exclusive Target edition included the original screenplay, in a booklet sized to match that of the DVD case.

The movie was also released as a "rentable" movie for download off of Xbox Live Video Marketplace in both High Definition and Standard Definition formats

[edit] Awards and nominations

Academy Awards record
1. Best Picture
2. Best Director
3. Best Adapted Screenplay
4. Best Editing
Golden Globe Awards record
1. Best Director

Academy Awards:

• Won: Best Picture
• Won: Best Director (Martin Scorsese)
• Won: Best Adapted Screenplay (William Monahan)
• Won: Best Film Editing (Thelma Schoonmaker)
• Nominated: Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Mark Wahlberg)

American Cinema Editors:

• Won: Best Edited Feature Film - Dramatic (Thelma Schoonmaker)

Boston Society of Film Critics:

• Won: Best Picture
• Won: Best Director (Martin Scorsese)
• Won: Best Supporting Actor (Mark Wahlberg)
• Won: Best Screenplay (William Monahan)
• Runner-Up: Best Ensemble Cast

British Academy of Film and Television Arts

• Nominated: Best Film
• Nominated: David Lean Award for Achievement in Direction (Martin Scorsese)
• Nominated: Best Adapted Screenplay (William Monahan)
• Nominated: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Leonardo DiCaprio)
• Nominated: Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Jack Nicholson)
• Nominated: Best Editing (Thelma Schoonmaker)

Broadcast Film Critics Association:

• Won: Best Picture
• Won: Best Director (Martin Scorsese)
• Nominated: Best Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio)
• Nominated: Best Supporting Actor (Jack Nicholson)
• Nominated: Best Acting Ensemble
• Nominated: Best Writer (William Monahan)
• Nominated: Best Composer (Howard Shore)

Chicago Film Critics Association:

• Won: Best Picture
• Won: Best Director (Martin Scorsese)
• Won: Best Adapted Screenplay (William Monahan)
• Nominated: Best Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio)
• Nominated: Best Supporting Actor (Jack Nicholson)
• Nominated: Best Cinematography

Directors Guild of America Awards:

• Won: Oustanding Directorial Achievement for Feature Film (Martin Scorsese)

Florida Film Critics Circle:

• Won: Best Picture
• Won: Best Director (Martin Scorsese)
• Won: Best Supporting Actor (Jack Nicholson)
• Won: Best Screenplay

Golden Globe Awards:

• Won: Best Director (Martin Scorsese)
• Nominated: Best Picture - Drama
• Nominated: Best Actor - Drama (Leonardo DiCaprio)
• Nominated: Best Supporting Actor (Jack Nicholson)
• Nominated: Best Supporting Actor (Mark Wahlberg)
• Nominated: Best Screenplay (William Monahan)

Las Vegas Film Critics Society:

• Won: Best Picture
• Won: Best Director (Martin Scorsese)

London Film Critics Circle:

• Nominated: Film of the Year
• Nominated: British Producer (Graham King)
• Nominated: Best Director (Martin Scorsese)

National Board of Review:

• Won: Best Director (Martin Scorsese)
• Won: Best Ensemble Cast
• Won: Top Ten Films of the Year

New York Film Critics Circle:

• Won: Best Director (Martin Scorsese)
• Runner-Up: Best Picture
• Runner-Up: Best Screenplay (William Monahan)

Producers Guild of America Awards:

• Nominated: Motion Picture Producer of the Year Award (Graham King)

Satellite Awards:

• Won: Best Picture - Drama
• Won: Best Supporting Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio)
• Won: Best Adapted Screenplay (William Monahan)
• Won: Best Ensemble
• Nominated: Best Director (Martin Scorsese)
• Nominated: Best Supporting Actor (Jack Nicholson)

Screen Actors Guild Awards:

• Nominated: Best Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
• Nominated: Best Supporting Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio)

Southeastern Film Critics Association:

• Won: Best Picture
• Won: Best Director (Martin Scorsese)
• Won: Best Adapted Screenplay (William Monahan)

Toronto Film Critics Association:

• Nominated: Best Picture
• Nominated: Best Director (Martin Scorsese)
• Nominated: Best Supporting Male Performance (Mark Wahlberg)
• Nominated: Best Screenplay (William Monahan)

Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association:

• Won: Best Director (Martin Scorsese)

Writers Guild of America Awards:

• Won: Best Adapted Screenplay (William Monahan)

MPAA RATING: R (RESTRICTED)

[edit] See also

• Infernal Affairs
• Infernal Affairs II
• Infernal Affairs III
• Irish American
• Irish Mob
• 79th Academy Awards

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• The Departed at the Internet Movie Database
• Official website of The Departed
• Fansite of The Departed
• Leonardo DiCaprio discusses The Departed and his ongoing collaboration with Martin Scorcese at FILMdetail
• The Departed film locations at TheyFilmHere.com

Films directed by Martin Scorsese

What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? • It's Not Just You, Murray! • The Big Shave • Who's That Knocking at My Door • Street Scenes • Boxcar Bertha • Mean Streets • Italianamerican • Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore • Taxi Driver • New York, New York • American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince • The Last Waltz • Raging Bull • The King of Comedy • After Hours • The Color of Money • The Last Temptation of Christ • New York Stories • Goodfellas • Cape Fear • The Age of Innocence • Casino • Kundun • My Voyage to Italy • Bringing Out the Dead • Gangs of New York • The Aviator • No Direction Home • The Departed • Shine a Light