The Departed (2006)

A criminal hidden among the police, and a cop hidden inside a crime organization. The two chase each other’s identity in the same city without knowing each other. With this single mirror-image setup, Martin Scorsese drags out 151 taut minutes. The Departed is, among his representative works, the fastest, roughest, and at the same time the most cruelly lucid crime drama.

What it’s about — Two infiltrators slipped into each other’s organization

The Boston police plant the rookie Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) undercover to catch the gang boss Costello (Jack Nicholson). Meanwhile Costello, too, has long since planted his own man Sullivan (Matt Damon) inside the police. Both organizations soon catch on that there is a mole among them, and the two infiltrators are driven to the position of having to find the other before being exposed. In a situation where it is impossible to know whom to trust, the nerve war between the two characters tightens like a noose closing in ever further.

Direction — A speed battle where one phone call divides life and death

In this film Scorsese leaves almost nothing extraneous. Rapid editing, a camera kept at a distance, and rock music mesh together so the film never slows for a moment. Though it took the Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs as its source, the director moves the story’s stage to Boston’s working-class society and clothes it in his signature rough texture. The profanity-laden dialogue and the suddenly erupting violence are off-puttingly direct, but that raw sensibility is exactly what makes this world persuasive.

It is especially interesting that the cell phone is used as the central tool of the events. As a single text or a single call record becomes a clue that divides life and death, the film unfolds as a battle over who grasps information first. The way the accumulated tension unravels all at once at the end may feel somewhat abrupt, but considering the cruelty of the world the characters inhabit, it is in fact a cruelly honest conclusion.

Performance — A contrast of neurotic anxiety and smooth hypocrisy

Leonardo DiCaprio fills Costigan, ceaselessly tormented by anxiety that his identity will be exposed, with a neurotic tension. His wavering gaze conveys directly how undercover work eats away at a man. Matt Damon plays Sullivan, outwardly a capable cop but inwardly a man who has abandoned his conscience for advancement, smoothly and chillingly. Jack Nicholson exudes an impulsive, mad charisma through Costello, and Mark Wahlberg appears as a rough, scathing detective who leaves a strong impression with only a few scenes. Martin Sheen breathes rare warmth into the film as a seasoned superior who cherishes the rookie, and the moment that warmth vanishes, the audience feels the coldness of this world all the more vividly.

What the film says — When the line between mask and face blurs

The two protagonists of The Departed ultimately stand before the same question: who am I? One plays a criminal to become a cop, the other plays a cop to live as a criminal. Act long enough and the line between mask and face blurs, until neither can be sure what he truly was. The film coldly shows how easily identity is consumed by environment, and what price comes with surviving in a world of lies.

Ratings & reception

The IMDb rating is 8.5 out of 10, high even among Scorsese’s films. The Rotten Tomatoes freshness score is 91% and the Metacritic score is 85 out of 100, with very favorable critical regard. With this work Scorsese won his first Academy Award for Best Director after a long wait, and adding Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay, and Editing, he became the lead figure of that year’s ceremony. Comparisons with the original split opinion, but it is frequently cited as a case that captured both popular appeal and quality at once.

Verdict

The Departed is the crime thriller in which Scorsese unpacks his specialty most directly. It is fast, rough, and at times cruel, but the tension of the structure in which the two infiltrators close in on each other never loosens to the end. Even the dryness of the ending suits this world. It is a work that delivers four-star satisfaction to viewers seeking a well-constructed thriller for grown-ups.

Recommended for

• Those who enjoy the mind games of characters hiding their true identities
• Those who prefer rough, fast crime thrillers
• Those who want to see the acting chemistry of DiCaprio, Damon, and Nicholson