The Departed

I finally saw The Departed this weekend. I'm still buzzed.

The Departed is Martin Scorsese's violent, dark story of two young cops who join the Massachusetts State Police. One cop, Colin Sullivan played by Matt Damon, is the protege of an Irish crime boss, Frank Costello, played by Jack Nicholson. Costello wants Sullivan to be his inside man in the police department, his rat. Sullivan quickly rises to the Special Investigations unit which is trying to get Costello. Sullivan manages to tip Costello off whenever the cops are closing in and in other ways foil the police efforts.

The other cop, Billy Costigan, played by Leonardo DiCaprio also gets into the Special Investigations unit, but only two people, the top captains. know he's on the unit. His job is to go undercover and infiltrate Costello's crew. It isn't long before both the cops and Costello realize there is a rat in their respective groups and set about trying to find them.

This is a movie that is all about identity. Sullivan looks to Costello as a father. Costigan, on the other hand, comes from a family of crooks from whom he has cut himself off. He's alone, but wants only to claim an honorable name. Near the end, when Costello is taken down, he doesn't want honors or money, but only his name.

There are 22 violent deaths in the movie.

This is going to rank among my favorite crime movies:
Reservoir Dogs
The Usual Suspects
Jackie Brown
Mystic River
Pulp Fiction
Heat