I was interested in seeing The Departed after the first time I saw the trailer. It looked like it would be very good and it had an impressive cast.

I am only going to briefly talk about the plot of The Departed. The things I will be mentioning were shown in the trailer. There could be a few minor spoilers for anyone who hasn’t seen a trailer yet.

Frank Costello had been running the Irish Mafia in Boston for years. He was very powerful and the police just couldn’t seem to get enough evidence to arrest him. Colin Sullivan, one of the Massachusetts State Police officers working on the team to catch Frank was actually feeding him information, which allowed Frank to avoid getting arrested. Colin was very ambitious and had been rising through the ranks quickly. Olivier Queenan and Dignam were detectives in charge of the unit going after Frank. Queenan and Dignam sent Billy Costigan undercover to infiltrate Frank’s organization. Frank believed there was a mole in his organization and wanted Colin to find out who it was. At the same time, Billy figured out that Frank had someone inside the police and was trying to find out who the dirty cop was.

The plot of The Departed was complicated and people need to pay attention to keep track of everything. The movie followed Frank, Colin, and Billy, jumping between their subplots. There were a few times when the subplots over lapped at least briefly. The subplots were all connected in some way. I thought the way that things were connected worked well and didn’t seem too convenient. It really wasn’t clear how much time passed between some of the events or even how long of a time frame the movie covered. At one point, Billy talked about having been undercover for a year and the movie was only about half over at that point. If he hadn’t said that, I would have thought much less time had passed. The pace was slower through a lot of the movie which gave the opportunity for the characters and plot to be more developed. The movie could be too slow for some viewers.

A small amount of humor turned up a couple of times and helped to lighten the movie. Usually, the humor was from something Frank said or did. He had a kind of crazed look in a few scenes, like he was just barely holding on to his sanity that was a little funny. The Departed was a very serious movie over all, dealing with serious subjects. Frank had been controlling part of Boston for years. He was involved with selling drugs as well as other criminal activities. I don’t remember any actual drug use being shown, though it was definitely hinted at in one scene with Frank and two women that was shot in a way that was kind of strange. A lot of other criminal activities were shown throughout the movie.

The Departed included several scenes that were very violent. The violence was contained in a few scenes that were very graphic and gory. There was a lot of shooting and many people were hurt or killed. More than one character was shot in the head, and that did start to get a bit old. It did seem like the violence went a bit overboard in a few scenes. Some of what happened was disturbing and upsetting to see. This movie could definitely be too violent for some people. I would have preferred it if some of the violence was less graphic. Most of the characters used profanity, some more than others. The word that rhymes with luck, and several variations of the word, were used repeatedly. Slang terms for a few body parts were also used a lot and Frank even used derogatory terms for certain groups of people. Anyone that is offended by swearing in movies should stay away from this one. The movie definitely deserved the R rating. This is not a movie for children to see.

Several scenes were suspenseful even though there really wasn’t any mystery. The trailers shared that Sullivan was giving Frank information, so that wasn’t a surprise. I wasn’t sure how everything would turn out. Some of what happened did surprise me. I was completely shocked by one event, never thinking that would happen. I’m being vague on purpose because I don’t want to spoil anything for people who haven’t seen the movie yet. Other people in the theater were just as shocked and I heard several people reacting in disbelief. What happened was probably realistic considering the situation that had been going on but I wasn’t happy about it. Once the movie was over, I did think there was one minor thing left up in the air. I think I know what happened, but I can’t know for sure since it wasn’t shown in the movie. I can’t get any more specific without saying too much for people who haven’t seen the movie yet.

At one point in The Departed, Colin had a chance meeting with Madolyn in at elevator and starting hitting on her immediately. I thought he was acting like an idiot, even joking about going out and shooting someone so he’d have to go see since she was a therapist, but she seemed to like him for some reason and they started dating. Small bits of their relationship were shown and while it was clear they were intimate, there weren’t any sex scenes between them in the movie. I did really wonder why Madolyn was interested in Colin. To make things more complicated, as part of his cover, Billy was sent to see Madolyn for therapy. Billy did have one sex scene that really didn’t show that much. There wasn’t any nudity, though at one point as a joke, Frank had a sex toy. One scene did make it pretty clear that Frank was having sex with two women. Thankfully that wasn’t shown. I really did not want to see Frank in a sex scene.

The Departed revolved around Frank, Colin, and Billy. Frank had been a very powerful criminal in Boston for years. The first few minutes took place several years in the past and Frank was controlling things at that time. It wasn’t said exactly how long ago that was supposed to be, but I’m guessing at least fifteen years, maybe twenty. During that early scene, Frank was mostly in shadows so his face wasn’t clearly shown. I thought that might have been done to keep Frank from looking the same age in that part as he would be in the main movie. Frank wasn’t a nice guy and he didn’t hesitate to use violence to remain in control. He became worried about a mole in his organization and he seemed to be cracking up a little bit while trying to find who it was. Jack Nicholson was wonderful in the part. He was perfect as Frank and I can’t imagine anyone else pulling off the character. He got this crazed look in a couple of scenes that was perfect. Nicholson is a very talented actor, though I haven’t always liked all of the movies. I think I actually liked Frank more than I did the character he played in Something's Gotta Give. He also played a different sort of villain in Batman.

Colin was very ambitious, seeking promotion after promotion in the Massachusetts State Police while secretly funneling every bit of information he could to Frank. He was definitely living a double life, acting like a dedicated cop while also being loyal to Frank. I was surprised at how brazen Colin was at contacting Frank at times while surrounded by other cops. He used some kind of code, but it still seemed very risky to me. Colin didn’t have a problem with what he was doing most of the time. The only time he seemed upset about it was when he was worried he was going to be exposed as a dirty cop. I really didn’t this character. Matt Damon was very good in the part. This was a very different sort of character than I’ve seen him play before.

Billy was just out of the academy when he went undercover to get into Frank’s organization. I did wonder how good of an idea it was to send in a cop with so little experience, but that did work into his cover. Billy had some family issues that also ended up working for his cover. The longer Billy was undercover, the more bothered he was by what he was doing. He felt like he was losing his identity and seemed to be on the verge of cracking up. I have seen Leonardo DiCaprio in several movies now and I do usually like him. He was amazing in this movie. I really wouldn’t be surprised if several members of this cast receive nominations once award season starts.

The rest of the characters weren’t anywhere as developed and were more in the background. Madolyn was a psychiatrist or therapist that worked a lot with the Massachusetts State Police, having sessions with officers when they had to use their weapons in the line of duty. She also saw people that required therapy as part of probation. Madolyn did seem like a nice woman that wanted to help people. Vera Farmiga was fine in the part. She had small parts in 15 Minutes and The Manchurian Candidate.

Queenan and Dignam were the detectives in charge of a special unit and the only two members of the force who know what Billy was doing. They are the ones that picked him for the assignment. Dignam was more abrasive, though he was committed to protecting the identity of the officers he had undercover. Martin Sheen and Mark Wahlburg were good in their parts. Wahlburg has had bigger parts in Four Brothers, Invincible, and The Italian Job. This was more of a supporting role for him. Alec Baldwin was around in a few scenes as Ellerby, the detective that was in charge of the investigation to get Frank. This part was smaller than the one he had in Malice. The part might have been slightly larger than ones he had in The Cat in the Hat and Fun With Dick and Jane.

Main Cast

Anthony Anderson - Brown
Alec Baldwin - Ellerby
Matt Damon - Colin Sullivan
Leonardo DiCaprio - Billy Costigan
Vera Farmiga - Madolyn
Jack Nicholson - Frank Costello
Martin Sheen - Queenan
Mark Wahlburg - Dignam
Ray Winstone - Mr. French

Martin Scorsese - Director

The Departed was one of the best movies I have seen this year. It did get very violent in a few scenes, so this won’t be a movie for everyone. The movie was full of amazing performances and is worth seeing.

Matt Damon Movie Reviews
The Bourne Identity ~ The Bourne Supremacy ~ The Brothers Grimm ~ Ocean's 11 ~ Ocean's Twelve ~


Recommended: Yes