The Departed (2006)
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93% of critics liked it
(230 reviews) -
92% of users liked it
(611,774 ratings)
Legendary director Martin Scorsese takes the helm for this tale of questionable loyalties and blurring identities set in the South Boston organized crime scene and inspired by the wildly popular 2002 Hong Kong crime film Infernal Affairs. As the police force attempts to reign in the increasingly… More Legendary director Martin Scorsese takes the helm for this tale of questionable loyalties and blurring identities set in the South Boston organized crime scene and inspired by the wildly popular 2002 Hong Kong crime film Infernal Affairs. As the police force attempts to reign in the increasingly powerful Irish mafia, authorities are faced with the prospect of sending in an undercover agent or seeing their already frail grip on the criminal underworld slip even further. Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a young cop looking to make a name for himself in the world of law enforcement. Collin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is a street-smart criminal who has successfully infiltrated the police department with the sole intention of reporting their every move to ruthless syndicate head Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). When Costigan is assigned the task of working his way into Costello's tightly guarded inner circle, Sullivan is faced with the responsibility of rooting out the informer before things get out of hand. With the stakes constantly rising and time quickly running out for the undercover cop and his criminal counterpart, each man must work feverishly to reveal his counterpart before his identity is exposed by the other. Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, and Ray Winstone co-star, and writer William Monahan adapts a screenplay originally penned by Alan Mak and Felix Chong. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Directed By
- Martin Scorsese
- Written By
- William Monahan, Siu Fai Mak, Felix Chong
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense
- In Theaters
- Oct 6, 2006 Wide
- On DVD
- Feb 13, 2007
- Studio
- Warner Bros. Pictures
Critic Reviews
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Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine
[A] very entertaining, densely layered, just-short-of-fabulous melodrama.
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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; it's about how it's about it.
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Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York
You'll have to go back to GoodFellas to find a Marty movie this fun, this enamored of language, of ethnic slurs, of "Gimme Shelter," of explosive violence. Scorsese's return to form is the year's most dynamic film. Really, how could it not be?
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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.
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Stanley Kauffmann, The New Republic
Is Scorsese desperate? This screenplay has the scent of it, as if he is scraping for material to feed his basic filmic interests.
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Cast
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Leonardo DiCaprio
as Billy Costigan
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Matt Damon
as Colin Sullivan
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Jack Nicholson
as Frank Costello
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Mark Wahlberg
as Sergeant Dignam
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Martin Sheen
as Captain Queenan
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Ray Winstone
as Mr. French
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Vera Farmiga
as Madolyn
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Anthony Anderson
as Brown
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Alec Baldwin
as Captain Ellerby
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James Badge Dale
as Barrigan
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David O'Hara
as Fitzy
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J.C. MacKenzie
as Building Manager
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Mark Rolston
as Delahunt
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Kevin Corrigan
as Cousin Sean
- Gerard McSorley








