“The Departed” brought together some of the most respected and powerful men in Hollywood. The film, directed by Martin Scorsese, offered outstanding performances from Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Matt Damon. The basic plot is that men are divided by power, loyalty, and by self.
Nicholson, who has the role of Frank Costello, is a gangster full of evil. His performance is meticulous matched by Damon (Colin Sullivan), a gangster in his own right, who goes undercover as a Boston state police officer. Billy Costigan, played by DiCaprio, is a state cop who spends most of his hours infiltrating the underworld. Costello, the gangster, moves throughout the movie mostly in shadows. His face is frequently obscured. His eyes are aimed at Colin. When Colin graduates from the academy he gives thanks to Frank for his support, unknowing just who the man is or what he does.
Nicholson shows the mastery he has of acting in the opening scenes. He has other choice moments throughout the movie. He also shares some hair-raising moments, in the early scenes, with Billy. He simply knows and thinks of Billy as a loser amongst many in the neighborhood.
Aside from the three main characters the movie also has other stars in their own right. Dignam is played by Mark Wahlberg; Martin Sheen portrays Queenan; Mr. French is played by Ray Winstone while Vera Farmiga does an excellent job in her role as Madolyn. Alec Baldwin is also a part of the movie portraying Ellerby and Anthony Anderson plays Brown. The movie was written by William Monahan. It is based on the screenplay for the film “Infernal Affairs.” The movie was released with an R rating requiring young adults, under the age of 17, to be accompanied by a parent or an adult guardian. The rating was due to the dirty language and the bloody action.