The Departed

The Departed
By Martin Scorcese
Produced by PLAN B/INITIAL ENTERTAINMENT GROUP/VERTIGO ENTERTAINMENT
Review by Kirk Barbera

“When I was [younger] they would say you could become cops, or criminals. Today, what I’m saying to ya is this; when you’re facing a loaded gun, what’s the difference?” The antagonist of the film, a brilliant Jack Nicholson, is initially purposefully under lit, leaving his face always in shadow. As the audience is lead through a series of shots of Boston, Nicholson’s character Frank Costello goes through an explanation of what it takes to be a man in modern Boston, and how the Irish rose from peasants to rulers of the Boston underworld. Upon the conclusion of the “what’s the difference?” line we finally see Frank Costello fully illuminated, and this greatly elucidated moment propels the story into well planned out chaos. As Frank emerges and delivers the last segment of his line we automatically get the premise for the entire movie, for indeed the movie endeavors to satisfy an answer to that very question. The major meanings of this movie can be found in this opening statement. In modern Boston two moles on both sides of the law compete to out-lie the other, leading to an intermingling of deception, self, love, friends and family.

The story follows two men from the Boston State Police academy and their subsequent paths. Billy Costigan (played by Leonardo Dicaprio) is raised as a ‘double kid’ his paternal familial side is completely engrained in the southie (Boston) projects, while his mother apparently lives uptown. This juxtaposition of Costigan’s inner workings enables him to creep his way into Costello’s gang. In contrast to Collin Sullivan (Matt Damon), who is a sly and intelligent kid from the wrong side of the track who was able to embed himself into the state police, and work as a mole for Costello. A movie that could be characterized as a criminal drama, a thriller or a cleverly written character drama, the audience is amazingly shown the conflicts in these two characters’ lives. In this drama each character is trapped in a cocoon of his own deception, leaving the audience in utter wonderment as to what can be considered good or bad.

Several motifs run rampant throughout the movie. Some are a bit much at times, for instance the rat symbolizing… well, a rat, is quite unnecessary. Yet there are a few visual motifs that help to illuminate the underlying story and theme, as well as give credence to the two main characters. The first and most prominent of the motifs is the Boston state capitol’s golden dome. Collin Sullivan seems infatuated with this symbol from the onset of the script. This makes sense given what the film is attempting to say about Sullivan and modern times. For one, Sullivan is a gangster pretending to be a state police detective, and attending law school at night. Throughout the film we see his desire to ‘prove’ himself to his friends, his co-workers, and lover and to anyone who will pay attention including his father figure Costello. In the first date scene with Madolyn we are inundated with his sad attempt at pretending to be sophisticated, while he is obviously charming, he seems to fall short of the upper class he so desperately wants to be a part of. While Sullivan is attempting to prove himself, Costigan is attempting to find himself. Costigan uses many drugs to keep himself sane. This double life pushes these two characters to the edge and back again, making them unravel from the strain of maintaining identities antithetical to their true natures.

Another Motif that seems prevalent in the movie is the use of America memorabilia, everything from flags, and United We Stand Posters to the State capitol dome mentioned above and more. This visual theme is Scorsese’s way of including in the film the underlying theme of America’s uncertainty in contemporary times. As all the elements battle it out in the movie the idea that nothing can be known for certain is inundated on us over and over. What really is good, what really is bad? This theme is hammered home over and over again.

Scorsese illustrates his masterful ability to portray the underbelly of society, and how a countries lower caste often bleeds over into the other molds of society.