The Departed
The Departed
Written by William Monahan. (Original 2002 screenplay by Siu Fai Mak and Felix Chong)
Directed by Martin Scorsese.
Burbank, CS: Warner Home Video, c2007.
- Starring:
- Leonardo DiCaprio
- Matt Damon
- Jack Nicholson
- Mark Wahlberg
- Martin Sheen
- Alec Baldwin
- Ray Winstone
- Anthony Anderson
- Vera Farmiga
- Kevin Corrigan
In South Boston, the state police force are waging a war on Irish-American organized crime. Undercover cop Billy Costigan is assigned to infiltrate the mob syndicate, which is run by gangland chief Frank Costello. Billy quickly gains Costello's confidence. Colin Sullivan is a hardened young criminal who has infiltrated the police department as an informer for the syndicate. Colin is rising to a position of power within 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 thrust into danger. Afraid of being caught and exposed to the enemy, they each must race to uncover the identity of the other man in time to save himself.
I'm really glad I got this at the library since about halfway in, I started thinking the plot sounded familiar and I could swear I'd seen some of the scenes before. Then it hit me, I had seen this all before, but a couple of years ago in a foreign film. I'm sure many people knew about the connection but I had no idea. This was a good movie but I would have been sooo angry if I'd seen it in the theatre. Yes, the location is different but the plot is basically the same and some of the scenes and dialogue are directly taken from the original. It's got a fantastic cast and I actually liked Leonardo for a change. He was more believable in this than in Blood Diamond. It was also interesting having Wahlberg play what seemed to be a much older character since Damon is actually a year older and DiCaprio only a few years younger. Still not entirely convinced it was worth Best Picture & Director Oscars but I can't argue with Adapted Screenplay because at least someone was cognizant of the fact that Scorsese didn't do it all by himself.
You might also like to watch the original movie Infernal Affairs.