Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Wahlberg

In South Boston, where the state police force is waging war on organized crime, young undercover cop Billy Costigan is assigned to infiltrate the mob syndicate run by gangland chief Costello. While Bi...( read more  read more... )lly is quickly gaining Costello's confidence, Colin Sullivan, a hardened young criminal who has infiltrated the police department as an informer for the syndicate, is rising to a position of power in 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 gangsters and the police that there's a mole in their midst, Billy and Colin are suddenly in danger of being caught and exposed to the enemy--and each must race to uncover the identity of the other man in time to save himself.

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92% liked it

359,020 ratings

Critics

92% liked it

224 critics

R, 2 hrs. 30 min.

Directed by: Martin Scorsese

Release Date: October 6, 2006

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DVD Release Date: February 13, 2007

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Flixster Reviews (68,412)


  • January 22, 2008
    An brillant & violent crime epic with great performances across the board from Leo to Matt to Marky Mark to big Jack Nicholson.
  • September 7, 2009
    The Departed is a great good cop/bad cop thriller. It's not Scorsese's best and its not really Oscar material but well done Marty, its about time you got one! The best things about this film our Nicholson and the brilliant surprise ending. Very entertaining but not a Scorsese cla...( read more)ssic.
  • August 10, 2009
    A complicated web of deceipt of corruption, violence crafted with twists and turns throughout.

    Many have chosen the original Chinese version of the story ?Infernal Affairs? to be the best version and usually in most cases I believe the original to be the best, but have to say ...( read more)?The Departed? marginally scores better with me and is a very worthy Scorsese masterpiece.

    Probably the best Hollywood gangster movie since Goodfellas, with a gifted all star cast, with a superb performance by Jack Nicholson and great performances by both Dicaprio and Damon.

    With greatly fitting music throughout, the right amount of humour and fantastic plot ? it?s a Hollywood must see.
  • May 5, 2009
    Boston gangster Frank Costello puts his gun to the back of a woman?s head, pulls the trigger in the nonchalant manner with which he?d light a cigarette and, as she stumbles over her husband?s already-murdered corpse, casually reports, ?She fell funny?. Obscene and dangerously ins...( read more)ane, Costello is the driving force powering The Departed, Martin Scorsese?s return to his urban roots after a decade of period pieces. Then, he is played by Jack Nicholson. This marks the first teaming of America?s premier cinematic dynamos.



    Working from a script by William Monahan (Kingdom Of Heaven), which transfers to Boston?s underworld the plot of hit Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs, Scorsese has crafted a story that uses the same premise but feels like an entirely different beast. New or beefed up characters ? notably the significantly enhanced role of Nicholson?s Costello compared to Eric Tsang?s Sam ? will leave even fans of the original guessing exactly how events will unfold.



    The set-up certainly draws out the best in a cast, led by Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon, that?s probably unused to working in someone else?s shadow. Then, this is Jack Nicholson. DiCaprio is Billy Costigan, the cop working his way inside Costello?s gang; Damon is Colin Sullivan, the criminal?s protégé groomed from a young age to become a police mole, leaking information from inside the force.



    In balancing his leading men against each other, Scorsese isn?t aiming for his usual criminal anthropology, painting a roots-up picture of Boston?s criminal world akin to GoodFellas? New York. His focus is on trust and betrayal ? how a man can keep his own identity when forced to live a life that is not his own. And DiCaprio and Damon counterbalance each other perfectly, managing (as Tony Leung and Andy Lau did in the original) to offer a compelling case study of two sides of the same coin, enemies defined by the same dilemma.



    Police detective Sullivan at first appears supremely comfortable in the role he plays. As he climbs up the hierarchy of Boston?s police ? and assembles what outwardly resembles a normal life ? Sullivan manages to position himself so that he?s part of the task force put together to, of all things, catch Costello. The flipside is Costigan, a recently graduated cop whose family has loose ties to the Mob ? which makes him the perfect informant to plant inside Costello?s gang. Alone, and avowing such bad blood doesn?t run in his veins, Costigan accepts a mission that will finally bring out a violent heritage he can?t stem. Comfortable with Scorsese after Gangs Of New York and The Aviator, DiCaprio gets the toughest role and delivers: his Billy Costigan is vitalised by a sense of panic and desperation that makes him more likeable than Damon, who is burdened with the more hypocritical part ? Sullivan can?t hide from himself the fact that he?s a bad apple who lives on opportunities, not merits.



    Yet, for all the youthful talent (and we also get Mark Wahlberg to bolster the film?s young-leaning credentials), The Departed belongs to Nicholson and Frank Costello, a man of unpredictable nature who doesn?t simply like violence, he is so steeped in it that it?s as natural as breathing. It?s hard to say which of his words came from Monahan?s script and which were added by the actor, who, in familiar fashion, gives the character as much leery charm as genuine danger, using fear (be it physical, verbal or sexual) as a tool to get precisely what he wants. In the course of a single phone conversation with Sullivan, he turns Damon?s character from alpha male to subservient puppy in a matter of moments. Then, he is Jack Nicholson. And when ?Jack? threatens to go over the top ? and sometimes the actor?s too much for even himself to handle ? Scorsese steps in to rap the back of his hand and keep the narrative firmly rooted in reality.



    When it comes to the dynamics of filmmaking, Scorsese still has few peers ? an elevator shoot-out in the third act could easily be this year?s tensest scene. The Departed is a sort of time machine: it recalls the richness and moral ambiguity of Hollywood?s ?70s, presenting stories about real people absent of turn-of-the-millennium concerns. They curse, have sex, lie, fight ? and sometimes die horribly. This is a superbly crafted movie that holds its own alongside, say, Serpico and The French Connection, with their amoral characters and intense, realistic action. Yet, despite its many layers, the director clearly has no ambition to break new ground. The surprising moments of humour that leaven the story suggest that he?s having fun with a film that puts him back on the mean streets, but with no intention of detailing the cogs of the criminal world. It?s not GoodFellas or Casino, but, frankly, it doesn?t have to be. He?s got Jack Nicholson
  • March 16, 2009
    Gripping action thriller with many lives on the line. Great cast. Leo plays Billy, an undercover cop who becomes a mole in a FBI wanted gang. Jack Nicholson plays the gangster who also has a mole (Matt Damon) in the police. Leo is brilliant. Another great performance!
  • November 6, 2009
    A pretty good film with some dodgy moments but a very good conclusion.
  • November 5, 2009
    Was good but had some slow parts.
  • November 4, 2009
    this is a very good movie to watch.Excellent story.extremely excited.you should see this one
  • November 2, 2009
    yes, yes, yes scorsesse is the man
  • November 1, 2009
    this movie is confusing boring and it makes no sense 4 me

Critic Reviews


July 6, 2007
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

What makes this a Scorsese film, and not merely a retread, is the director's use of actors, locations and energy, and its buried theme. I am fond of saying that a movie is not about what it's about; i... full review

January 6, 2007
David Edelstein, New York Magazine

The Departed has enough tension to keep you engrossed, and enough color for ten crime pictures. Scorsese obviously adores his expensive, expansive ensemble. full review

October 9, 2006
Pete Hammond, Maxim

We'll be talking about this one for years to come. full review

October 7, 2006
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

Scorsese has put together a fantastic ensemble of actors: Some of the movie's best performances are the ones tucked into the corners, like Alec Baldwin's beefy, arrogant state police honcho. full review

October 6, 2006
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

As The Departed wears on, it becomes more exciting, more grimly funny and more nihilistic -- and that nihilism has a lasting impact. full review

October 6, 2006
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

For all its bloodletting, The Departed is an intoxicating film. It's a film that'll have your hands over your face with one eye peeking: The violence sickens, but the movie seduces. full review

October 6, 2006
Kurt Loder, MTV

It's good to see Martin Scorsese back among the bad guys again, knocking heads, spraying bullets, sloshing through the bloody puddles of their conflicted Catholicism. full review

October 5, 2006
Claudia Puig, USA Today

Two and a half hours race by as this twisting, turning tale blazes its exciting, funny, brutal path. full review

October 5, 2006
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

If the story suffers initially from a slight lack of focus, hang in there, because you will soon become immersed in a mesmerizing, expertly plotted cat-and-mouse game. full review

September 28, 2006
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

A new American crime classic from the legendary Martin Scorsese, whose talent shines here on its highest beams. full review

View more The Departed reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • terris85017
    February 4, 2009
    Wrote this review in 2007. (Oct 2006 Director: Martin Scorsese) The subject is loyalties, corruption, mob life. Scorsese won his Oscar Oscars too & Best Director and Best Picture. Wonderful cast....interesting story set in Boston (good accents)....Sort of a fun tale of local corruption casting the wonderful Jack Nicholson as the Kingpen!

    This movie was released prior to American Gangster. I say that because these are LOCAL mob stories...(this one set in Boston).

    Matt Damon & Leonard Dicaprio at some points in this film I could hardly tell apart!So I watched it again! They had distinct characters. Their acting is that intense. Martin Sheen & Mark Wahlberg were great in heading up the undercover dept.
  • btemplejhcp09
    November 23, 2008
    good movie. but i agree with the comments before, didn't need all of the swearing.
  • perfectgentlemn
    July 20, 2008
    Keep both eyes & ears on alert, Very Good Movie !!
  • KeyserSoze93
    June 15, 2008
    Exactly.What does the swearing have to do with anything?You've heard the words before, get over it.
  • gregorysuarez
    June 13, 2008
    What does the amount of swearing have to do with the quality of the film?
  • karthu1993
    April 15, 2008
    ooh too much swearing. it made the movie unworthy of winning the oscar.
  • pavacri23
    February 23, 2008
    one of the best movies of 2006
  • sportboy
    February 23, 2008
    well I haven't watched this film but I did like leonardo Dicaprio in Titanic I wonder how he would be like in this film.
  • gyvette
    November 27, 2007
    great movie! I am not a fan of Leonardo DiCaprio at all. He has never made a movie that I have liked him in, but I loved him in this one. He was great, he did such a good job with his character, I was so impressed with it!!!
  • bluecardinals
    November 12, 2007
    wow!

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