My review of The Departed

Rating: 9/10 (15 March 2016)

The Departed is a Martin Scorsese movie about two cops from South Boston that join the Massachusetts State Police Department. One character, Colin Sullivan, played by Matt Damon, joins the force as a mole for Frank Costello, played by Jack Nicholson, the boss of the Irish mafia. It is Frank Costello who has groomed Colin from a young age to be a part of his syndicate. Colin infiltrates the state police, rising through the ranks and gaining the trust of the higher brass of the state police. Colin fills Frank in on what all the police know about him. The police cannot understand why Frank is always one step ahead of them.
The second character is Billy Costigan, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. He is a police rookie assigned to be an informant for the police department. His family has ties to the mob in South Boston, so he gains the trust and credibility of Costello. As both cops infiltrate each other's organizations, they learn that each organization has a mole. They now must protect themselves and figure out who is the mole.
The theme of The Departed is self-identity. Both characters have no family to speak to. In the beginning of the movie, Colin is being raised by his grandmother. He was groomed by Costello during his teens to help run Costello's Irish territory. We also see through a flashback that Billy's mother passes away and he disowns his mother's brother. The only family he has is his small time drug dealing cousin, Sean, played by Kevin Corrigan. Through their infiltration of each other organizations, they seem to lose the only small identity they have. The only person who knows Colin's true identity is Costello. Everyone on the force thinks he is a great cop. He moves up through the ranks quickly. Even Madelyn, the police psychologist, played by Vera Farmiga, thinks he is a cop. She lives with him and is carrying his child, and still does not know who he really is. It is also Costello's code name on the phone "Dad", that is ironic. Is that the only father figure he has ever had?
Billy's identity is only known by Det. Sgt. Dignam, played by Mark Wahlberg, and Captain Queenan, played by Martin Sheen. No one else on the force knows the identity of Billy Costigan. Those who know Billy, think he dropped out of the police academy, and did time for assault and is on probation. His families tie to the Irish mafia, raises no eyebrows when he joins Costello's crew. Captain Queenan keeps an eye on Billy, is this his only father figure? As the movie moves along, both characters learn about each other. Billy is getting scared. Costello tells him there is a rat in the group. Billy also finds out Costello is a FBI informant. While Billy and Queenan meet up, Colin informs Costello and crew about the meeting. While trying to protect Billy, Queenan ends up being thrown from the roof. On his dying bed, Delahunt, one of Costello's men, played by Mark Roleston, asks Billy why he ended up at the right place to ambush Captain Queenan. He told him the wrong address by accident. Before Billy reaches for his gun, Delahunt dies. Colin is also told there is a mole in the special operations unit. He is moved to internal affairs to help find the mole. It is during this time that both characters feel the walls are closing in. During one scene, Billy is following Colin from the theater. The dark streets and the sound of footsteps splashing through rain puddles, gives us a suspenseful feeling that one of the characters will be found out and caught. As Colin pulls his knife and jumps out from behind the truck, it is the restaurant worker that gets stabbed. This is a sigh of relief for the viewer believing Billy was going to be the victim.
The conclusion of the movie moves quickly. Sullivan learns from Queenan's diary that Costello is an FBI informant. Colin is now worried about losing his identity The police, with Colin in the car, follow Costello to a cocaine drop off. After pulling up to the building, gunfire erupts between police and Costello's crew. It is there that Colin confronts Costello about being an FBI informant, and questions if he was the next guy that Costello would give up. As Costello goes for his gun, Colin shoots him several times and kills him. The next day at the station, Colin is applauded for killing Costello. Thinking all is over, Billy shows up to Colin wanting his true identity back. While Colin goes to another room to check computer, Billy finds the envelop with "citizen" written on it. He has found the mole. Colin also found his mole, and erases all of Billy's records.
A few weeks later, Costello's lawyer sends Billy recordings of Colin's and Frank's conversations. Billy then sends them to Colin. While looking at the mail, Madelyn finds the tapes and starts to listen to them. Colin then contacts Billy and they plan to meet at the same building where Queenan died. Billy blindsides Colin and intends to arrest him. While in elevator, Trooper Barragan, who no one knew was another mole for Costello, kills Billy. Then, Colin kills Barragan so there are no witnesses to this crime. After all the funerals, Colin comes home with packages and finds Det. Dignam. Dignam shoots Colin in his apartment. Was justice done?
The last scene of the movie is a rat on the railing with the justice department behind it. Did Billy and Colin die without ever having a true identity? The one identity they both had in common was being a "rat" in each other's organization.