The Departed

**Synopsis**

Martin Scorsese finally gets the ultimate prize (The Oscar) for his brutal portrayal of divided loyalties, and hidden identities within the Irish Mafia and the police force. Billy Costigan (DiCaprio) is a young cop given the difficult task of infiltrating the Irish Mafia. Collin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is the opposite, being a street criminal who infiltrates the police department to spy on them and pass information to Frank Costello (Jack Bicholson) the ruthless leader of the local Irish Mafia.

As the power of the Irish mafia increases, both men are under pressure to deliver the hidden spy in the organizations in which they are entrenched.

**The Movie**

I have to admit to being thoroughly confused initially; perhaps due to my inferior eye sight, or perhaps because it wasn’t totally explained, I thought that Billy Costigan and Collin Sullivan were the same character – the problem for me was that Matt Damon and DiCaprio looked uncannily similar in this movie. It seemed very strange to me that a character could be entrenched in the Mafia and then also walk around in public as a cop. Once I got over the initial confusion and noticed that the tow main characters were in fact different characters, I began to settle into the movie.

The coincidence of having a good cop as an undercover agent in the Irish Mafia, and then having a bad cop being a member and informant for the same Irish Mafia was a little unbelievable for me. Having said that, the winding plot as both characters tried to keep their role hidden, while struggling with this role was interesting and striking.

Watching the stress and the frustration of Billy Costigan as he entrenched himself in the Irish Mafia, and through acts of violence forged trust within the inner circle of the leadership, hammered home to me how difficult and dangerous these jobs must be. It was obvious, through the demonstrations of distrust within the Irish Mafia, that one false step would end in Billy’s death.

Read the full review here.