Upon its release, ''The Departed'' opened at #1 at the U.S. box office with a robust gross of [[United States dollar|US$]]26,887,467, beating fellow openers ''[[Employee of the Month (2006 film)|Employee of the Month]]'' and ''[[The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning]]''. As of November 8'th 2006, the movie has grossed $103,900,098 domestically and has surpassed [[The Aviator]] as Martin Scorcese's highest grossing film.
Upon its release, ''The Departed'' opened at #1 at the U.S. box office with a robust gross of [[United States dollar|US$]]26,887,467, beating fellow openers ''[[Employee of the Month (2006 film)|Employee of the Month]]'' and ''[[The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning]]''. As of November 8'th 2006, the movie has grossed $103,900,098 domestically and has surpassed [[The Aviator]] as Martin Scorsese's highest grossing film.
==Trivia==
==Trivia==
Revision as of 12:18, 11 November 2006
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Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) enters the Massachusetts State Police to work as a mob mole for crime boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). Sullivan's impeccable family history allows for his acceptance as well as his quick rise to a leadership position in the force.
Meanwhile, Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) has also joined the police force. A hot-tempered young adult with a checkered family past, Costigan is propositioned by State Police Captain Queenan (Martin Sheen) and Sergeant Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) to prove himself as a cop by working as a mole inside Costello's mob syndicate. Though Costigan doesn't get along with Dignam, he accepts Queenan's proposition. In order to build his background as a criminal and set him up as a mole, Costigan is "fired" from the police force and serves a brief stint in prison on a false assault charge. Upon his release, Costigan begins selling cocaine with his cousin to get noticed by Costello. After Costigan attacks a pair of Italian gangsters from Providence, Rhode Island, Costello steps in to protect Costigan from Mafia retribution. Costigan is introduced to Costello's right-hand muscle man Mr. French (Ray Winstone), and joins their crew.
At police HQ, Sullivan is promoted to the Special Investigation Unit headed by Captain Ellerby (Alec Baldwin). Costello wants to know if there is a police mole in his organization, but Sullivan can't get the information for him. Sullivan becomes romantically involved with police psychiatrist Madolyn Madden (Vera Farmiga). Madolyn also has sessions with Costigan, who is suffering from the stress of being undercover, and the two discuss the necessity of lies and deception. Costigan too falls for Madolyn, and a love triangle develops. Madolyn's attraction to Costigan grows, but she nevertheless moves in with Sullivan.
Sullivan and Costigan's double lives consume them, torn between allegiances to both sides. As secrets start to leak out both in the police and the mob, both cops suspect a rat. Sullivan and Costigan try to smoke out the moles before they are both identified. Frustrated at the length of time he has to serve undercover, Costigan fears it is only a matter of time before Costello discovers his identity and murders him. Sullivan continues to save Costello from police stings while trying to discover who the police mole is (only Dignam and Queenan know about Costigan).
Costigan learns that Costello has long been an FBI informant, and tells Queenan. Sullivan, in an attempt to discover the identity of Queenan's undercover officer, places Queenan under surveillance under the pretense that Sullivan has reason to suspect that Queenan is the mole within the state police. Queenan and Costigan meet on the rooftop of an abandoned building, and Costigan tells Queenan that Costello has become unstable, and he can't take the pressure of staying undercover. Queenan thanks Costigan for his service and assures him that he'll pull him out as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the officers following Queenan report his location to Sullivan, who then tips off Costello. Costello sends his men to kill the mole. They in turn call Costigan and tell him to meet them at the building, not knowing he is already present. Costigan realizes that Queenan had been tailed, and scrambles to leave before Costello's men arrive. Queenan bravely stays behind to buy Costigan some time. When Costello's men find Queenan, they throw him off the building. Falling to his death, Queenan lands at Costigan's feet. As Costello's men leave the building, a shootout ensues with the police officers who had been tailing Queenan. Costello's men escape after Sullivan gives the officers orders to abandon pursuit. One of Costello's men is fatally wounded from the gun battle, and before he dies he tells Costigan that he knows he (Costigan) is the rat. However, he hints that there is a reason he didn't tell anyone. Costello's men hide the body in a sloppy fashion and it's discovered the next day. It is then that we learn that the dead man was an undercover Boston City Police officer. (However, Costello believes that this is just misinformation in an attempt to throw him off the real rat.)
Due to Queenan's murder, Ellerby takes charge and orderes Dignam to turn over the files on the mole to Sullivan. Dignam, irate that Sullivan had Queenan followed, refuses and is put on paid leave after striking Sullivan, who claims that he was just doing his job. Sullivan goes through Queenan's files and, although he doesn't learn Costigan's identity, he does learn that Costello is an FBI informant. Spooked, he tells Costello that he is clear to make a deal one night − but secretly, Sullivan has informed police about the deal, double-crossing Costello. Police ambush the deal and kill most of Costello's men; a dying Mr. French commits suicide shortly before his vehicle explodes. Costigan leaves before the police make their assualt. Costello escapes the shootout wounded, but is confronted by Sullivan, who tries to get Costello to reveal the truth about being an FBI informant. Costello avoids the question before admitting to it, and then attempts to shoot Sullivan, however his young protege shoots him several times, killing him.
With the undercover mission over, Costigan comes to the station to claim his big monetary reward and recover his identity. Sullivan congratulates him and leaves the office for a moment to retrieve Costigan's personnel file. Costigan notices an envelope on Sullivan's desk, documents that Costello's men were able to pass on to the mole on the inside, and Costigan realizes that Sullivan is in fact the mole. Costigan runs out of the police station. When Sullivan returns to the now empty office, he realizes that Costigan knows his identity as the mole and quickly deletees Costigan's personnel file from the department's database.
Costigan learns that before Costello died, he recorded most of his conversations with Sullivan, to use them if necessary; after Costello's death, the tapes are given to Costigan by Costello's lawyer. Costigan sends a CD with the recorded conversations to Sullivan's apartment, but Madolyn intercepts the package when she sees Costigan's name as the return address, and she plays the CD while Sullivan is in the shower; she leaves Sullivan when she learns the truth. Madolyn is pregnant, though the child is most likely Costigan's, as we learn throughout the movie that Sullivan has problems with impotency and may or may not be sterile.
Sullivan calls the number Costigan provided with the CD and arranges a meeting at the rooftop of the building where Queenan had been killed. Costigan beats Sullivan and cuffs him, saying he will use the tapes to prove his innocence and reclaim his identity. Sullivan tells Costigan that since he erased his file no one will believe that he is a cop, and if he does take him down to the station, he will go to jail for the crimes he committed while working for Costello. Officer Brown barges in and takes aim at Costigan, warning him to release Sullivan before Costigan reminds him that they were both cadets at the police academy together. Costigan drags Sullivan off to the elevator, and Sullivan asks Costigan to kill him. As the two exit the elevator, Costigan is suddenly shot dead by Barrigan (James Badge Dale), an old Academy classmate of Sullivan's who is now under his authority. Barrigan reveals that he too is a Costello mole inside the force, answering the question of how Costello knew police information that Sullivan didn't tell him. Barrigan knows that Costello was an FBI informant, and tells Sullivan they have to watch out for each other. Brown comes down the stairs to find Costigan dead and Barrigan kills him on the spot. Sullivan reciprocates by immediately killing Barrigan. During the debriefing, Sullivan lies about the events, revealing Costigan's status as an undercover agent and recommending that he be awarded a medal postmortem.
After Costigan's funeral, Sullivan asks Madolyn about her pregnancy, but she ignores him, knowning he was responsible for Costigan's death. Sullivan returns home to find Dignam with a gun drawn. It is assumed that the envelope Costigan gave Madolyn explained that Sullivan was the rat, and if anything should happen to Costigan, Madolyn should tell Dignam about Sullivan. Dignam unloads a shot into Sullivan's head, killing him. Dignam then quietly leaves the room as a rat runs across the deck of Sullivan's apartment overlooking the State House.
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 also a theme throughout the film: [2]
Costello acts as a father to Sullivan; As a code, Sullivan calls Costello "Dad" whenever receiving a phone call from him.
Costello takes on Costigan as a second son.
Queenan acts as a father figure to Costigan throughout the undercover process and even saves his life by sacrificing his own.
The childhood photograph of Madolyn is symbolic of both Billy and Colin's position towards paternity. Sullivan has failed to identify with a full masculine identity, and therefore fears mother-father-child intimacy. Costigan is vulnerable and open, and places the picture on the wall; symbolic of his desire for a fertile relationship.
Ellerby ends up becoming a second father figure to Sullivan. Ellerby has a sex talk with Sullivan during the film, and ends up trusting him so much that he puts Sullivan in charge of finding the "rat" in the police department.
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The film heavily incorporates the culture and history of Boston. 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 Irish", a term used primarily in the Boston metropolitan area by working-class Irish to disparage upper-middle class Irish-Americans who have strayed from their roots. 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. The film includes the song "I'm Shipping Up To Boston" by the Dropkick Murphys, an Irish band formed in South Boston. Other references include state locations such as Route 128, regions such as the North Shore and Worcester, and state slang like "Staties", a local nickname for the Massachusetts State Police.
The character Frank Costello was largely based on James "Whitey" Bulger, a real life Irish-American mobster in Boston. 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; Connelly is currently imprisoned for his role in Bulger's criminal activities. Costigan's undercover role as a 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.
Reactions
Andrew Lau, the co-director of Infernal Affairs, who was interviewed by Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily on October 9, 2006, 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 about 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."[3] 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.[4]
General critical consensus after the film's release has been overwhelmingly positive; the film is currently one of the highest-rated wide release films of 2006 on Rotten Tomatoes at 93%, the third highest on Metacritic, and the eighth highest on Yahoo! All-Time Top Movies (as determined by users)[5]. As of November 3, 2006, The Departed is also the highest-rated film of 2006 on IMDb's Top 250 at #61 [6], and among the highest-rated films of the decade on IMDb's "Best of the 2000s" List at #12. [7]. However, responses from Asian American audiences, especially those who have seen Infernal Affairs, seem to be generally negative.
Michael Patrick MacDonald, author of the Southie memoirs "All Souls" and "Easter Rising" wrote an Op Ed Piece for the Boston Globe[8] 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 688 word 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.
Box office
Upon its release, The Departed opened at #1 at the U.S. box office with a robust gross of US$26,887,467, beating fellow openers Employee of the Month and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. As of November 8'th 2006, the movie has grossed $103,900,098 domestically and has surpassed The Aviator as Martin Scorsese's highest grossing film.
Matt Damon is from Cambridge, MA. Mark Wahlberg returned to his hometown of Boston, Massachusetts in this film. Wahlberg's schedule was moved to the beginning of principal photography so he would have time in his schedule for another film, as was Alec Baldwin's.
Certain stunts were performed and filmed in the old Fore River Shipyard just south of Boston. This location may have been chosen for the sightlines in the background so the Boston skyline would be true.
In one scene, Scorsese uses a clip from John Ford's 1935 film The Informer, which details a poor Irishman who rats out his friend (a wanted criminal) to the British Authorities.
Jack Nicholson signed on to play Frank Costello because in the past ten years he had done mainly comedic films, and he wanted to play a villain again. He has mentioned that he considers his character of Costello to be an "ultimate embodiment of evil." [9]
Leonardo DiCaprio was cast in the title role in The Good Shepherd, but he dropped out to play Billy Costigan in this project. Coincidentally, his co-star Matt Damon took his intended role in that film.
Robert De Niro was considered for the roles of both Frank Costello and Captain Queenan. Preoccupied with directing his own film, The Good Shepherd, he turned down both roles .
The conclusion of the movie where Dignam fires the shot at Colin is a signature homage that filmmaker Martin Scorsese uses in reference to the 1903 classic film The Great Train Robbery, directed by Edwin S. Porter. Scorsese also uses this at the end of Goodfellas where Joe Pesci's character is seen shooting at the audience at the very end of the film.
The Departed is the third film in which Scorcese has used the song Gimme Shelter by the Rolling Stones when depicting organized crime. The previous movies were Goodfellas and Casino.
The term 'the faithful departed' is a reference in Roman Catholicism to the belief that baptised souls who have not atoned for their sins will be unable to attain to grace without prayer and the sacrifice of the Mass. Without these the departed are believed to reside in Purgatory. This is similar to the Hong Kong version's original name "Infernal Affairs" in that both bear religious connotations.
Ironically Infernal Affairs featured a cop wearing a Boston Red Sox Cap File:Vlcsnap-1579093.png
