***Some spoiler content***

Rating: 9/10 (6 February 2011)

The Departed is another classic Martin Scorsese film that can be put near the top of his organized crime genre set that includes Casino and Goodfellas. The plot of a young lad named Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) taken under the wing of a Boston Irish mob boss, Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) grooms young Colin to infiltrate the Massachusetts State Police, becoming one of their own and providing the mob with an inside connection or mole. Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a young, soon to be academy graduate of the Massachusetts State Police, when approached to serve them by going undercover into the Irish mob. Captain Queenan (Martin Sheen) and Staff Sergeant Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) convince Billy this is his best opportunity with his family ties to organized crime. This begins the chase of finding who the mole in each organization is, while Billy and Colin struggle with their own identities. The theme is that of identity and how one fits into their surroundings. When Colin was molded as a young boy by Frank, he had a newly discovered identity. Colin is first portrayed as an innocent well mannered boy. The same can be said about Billy, who believed that he was nothing like his father or uncle as he searched for his own identity, which was eventually stripped by Colin. Billy's search for his own identity is similar in what Kane pursues in Citizen Kane. The father-son relationship between Colin and Frank is a motif throughout the movie. The father like relationship between Frank and Billy is evident as the film progresses, not to the extent as Colin's relationship with Frank, but close. Colin calls Frank 'Dad' when speaking with him in cover while at work. Captain Queenan and Billy portray a father-son relationship as well, Billy trusts Queenan with protecting his identity. The lighting in the film was outstanding. The opening scenes with Frank use some high contrast with many different lighting angles for depth. Keeping the foreground of Frank's face very dark with a vibrant background was great. This keeps us guessing on what physical characteristics he may have, which ties into the theme of identity. The theme of identity has many different layers between the characters, as one identity is established another is questioned. The flow of action from scene to scene and the characters relationships tie well with theme. A movie well done!