History Film / TheDeparted

** The police's view on Miles Kennefik, killed by Costello's crew. Captain Ellerby points out, "We're not here to solve the case of the missing scumbag. We're here to nail Costello."

** Sullivan experiences the reverse. Costello notes that he's getting a little too comfortable with his cushy surroundings, his social aspirations and his relationship to a pretty psychologist and seems to want to become a SocialClimber. The latter keeps reminding Sullivan who he's working for. Sullivan is initially loyal to Costello and totally corrupt but he eventually [[spoiler:rats out his crew and Costello when he finds out that Costello is a FBI mole and he ends up parlaying his betrayal into a heroic platform and a legitimate legal or political career, which ends of course thanks to Costigan and Dignam]].

* CanAlwaysSpotACop: Played with. In one scene, two members of the criminal gang are hanging out on the street and one of them starts joking that he can always spot a cop. According to him, if someone ignores you, they're a cop. He then proceeds to say that every single person walking by is undercover because they're all ignoring them. The twist is, ''he's'' actually an undercover police officer himself.

* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Costigan, desperate and berserk in the finale, calls Sullivan "a faggot" which today would be considered a homophobic slur. That's not even getting into the poetry of Dignam's dialogue.

** [[spoiler:Billy is relieved of his frustrating and miserable existence trying to live down his family's reputation when he's shot in the head in the end.]]

* PetTheDog: Sullivan [[spoiler:having previously deleted Costigan from the computer system after realizing the latter found out he was one of Costello's rats, reveals Costigan's identity to the other officers and recommends him for the Medal of Merit after Barrigan kills him and Brown. Costigan is given a full police funeral as a result. However, this may not be for Costigan as much as it's a way for Sullivan to make himself look even better; he's taken down a rat and restored the reputation of a falsely disgraced cop.]]

* AntiVillain: Colin is clearly about either serving Costello's interests because he was groomed to do so or eventually [[spoiler:protecting himself from exposure]]. It becomes clear later on though that his guilt over his actions begins to eat him alive.

--> '''Chinese Mob Boss:''' What is wrong with you?! I've been waiting and waiting. This guy's from the government, man! If he gets caught he'll have to kill himself.
--> '''Costello's Translator:''' The boss doesn't think it's wise to bring automatic weapons. Are you crazy? Put your weapons away! Quick! Come on!
--> '''Chinese Mob Boss:''' Put the guns down.... I'm ordering you, check the goods.

-->'''Oliver Queenan:''' Do you know what we do here? My section?
-->'''Billy Costigan:''' Sir, yes, sir. I have an idea...
-->'''Dignam:''' [interrupting] Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let's say you have no idea and leave it at that, okay? No idea. Zip. None. If you had an idea of what we do, we would not be good at what we do, now would we? We would be cunts. Are you calling us cunts?
-->'''Oliver Queenan:''' Staff Sergeant Dignam has a style of his own. I'm afraid we all have to get used to it.

** Costello tells Costigan about a drug boat coming into Gloucester, knowing that if the police find out about it, that means he's the rat. However, at this point Costigan is paranoid about the informant in the police department and doesn't tell Queenan or Dignam, so ultimately, when Sullivan tells Costello the police haven't heard about it, Costello thinks that Costigan is innocent.

** Dignam telling Costigan that he's "the best friend he [Costigan] has on the face of this earth." It's easy to write this off given Dignam is in the middle of a massive tirade against Costigan. [[spoiler:After Costigan's death, Dignam - by this point Costigan's only surviving ally in the police due to Queenan's death - sees to it that his death is avenged after Sullivan seemingly escapes justice.]]

** The first time Costello calls Sullivan for an update, Costello is angry because Sullivan has not kept him in the loop on his psychiatrist girlfriend and the snazzy new apartment. When they meet again face to face in a porn movie theater he owns and Sullivan informs him that he’s being [[HiredToHuntYourself reassigned to hunt himself]], Costello nonchalantly and calmly replies he already heard. Sullivan is surprised that Costello already knew about this reassignment and isn't angry at him not being informed in advance. [[spoiler:It’s later revealed Costello had Barrigan as another mole in the Staties and used Barrigan to keep tabs on Sullivan.]]

** The first time Costello calls Sullivan for an update, Costello is angry because Sullivan has not kept him in the loop on his psychiatrist girlfriend and the snazzy new apartment. When they meet again face to face in a porn movie theater he owns and Sullivan informs him that he’s being [[HiredToHuntYourself reassigned to hunt himself]], Costello nonchalantly and calmly replies he already heard, surprising Colin both because Costello already knew and that Costello wasn't angry at him not being informed in advance. [[spoiler:It’s later revealed Costello had Barrigan as another mole in the Staties and used Barrigan to keep tabs on Sullivan.]]

-->'''Billy Costigan''': Look, you're seventy years old, Frank. I'm just sayin', Okay?. [[{{Foreshadowing}} One of your guys is gonna pop you. One of your guys is gonna pop you.]] As for running drugs, what the fuck are you doing? What are you doing?. You don't need the money or the pain in the ass, and they will catch you.
-->'''Frank Costello''': I haven't "needed the money" since I took Archie's milk money in the third grade. Tell you the truth, I don't need pussy anymore either... but I like it.
* ForWantOfANail: Sullivan strolls out of his meeting with Queenan and flirts with the [[DistractedbyTheSexy secretary]] which means [[spoiler: he doesn't spot Billy waiting and know he was already in the police and interviewed by Queenan for his special unit.]]

* FriendsRentControl: Lampshaded and justified. A realtor casually questions how an unmarried state police detective can afford an extravagant apartment with a view of the Capitol Building.[[note]]The realtor notes that the apartment is near the Beacon Hill neighborhood, where apartment prices can easily climb into the seven figures.[[/note]]Sullivan, of course, can afford it due to being Costello's mole.

** Frank told Colin as a kid not to let anyone tell him what to do and scoffing at the legitimate authorities in society. [[spoiler:Frank's an FBI rat and can only get away with what they allow him to, or can cover for]].

* JustAGangster: Costello can't think beyond being an old fashioned gangster, and he lives and acts like a 30s gangster transplanted into the early 21st Century. He and his outfit only survive as long as they do because [[spoiler:he's a stooge for the FBI, who use Costello to crack down on other, more dangerous gangs like the Chinese, who are involved in bigger schemes]]. Sullivan, who is a cold SocialClimber, wants to study law and become a politician, but Costello sneers at his legitimate ambitions, or living any life other than his old school gangster ways. [[spoiler:In the end Sullivan finds out about Costello's complicity with the FBI, and wipes him and his whole gang out so Sullivan can cover his tracks and try to move ahead with his legitimate ambitions]].

* KarmicDeath: Costello is killed by Sullivan, the very same person he groomed to be his Mole in the Massachusetts State Department. Bonus points for being a reversal of how Queenan died.

-->'''Costello:''' You know I'd never give you up. You're like a...
-->'''Sullivan:''' What, like a son? To you? Is that what this is about? All that murdering and fucking, and no sons.

* TheParagonAlwaysRebels: Each rat has side's total trust: Sullivan is Captain Ellerby's favorite protege, and Billy becomes Costello's most-trusted enforcer.

--> '''Billy Costigan:''' Huh, what about the FBI?
--> '''Oliver Queenan:''' Ehh, they're compromised.
--> '''Billy Costigan:''' The... they're what?
--> '''Oliver Queenan:''' They're ''fucked''!

* RiseAndFallGangsterArc: Sullivan's character arc. Colin Sullivan is taken under the wing of gangster Frank Costello at an early age and groomed to eventually become Costello's [[TheMole mole in the police]]. The first half of the film features him skyrocketing to prominence within the force, using his connections to pin Costello's crimes on scapegoats, getting engaged and gaining a fancy apartment. However, things start coming undone when Costello tasks Sullivan with finding the police informant in his gang (the ''other'' main character, Billy Costigan) - and [[HiredToHuntYourself the police task Sullivan with finding the mole in the department]]. As a result, Sullivan is drawn into a deepening web of lies and paranoia that results in him having to screw over both factions; in the process, [[spoiler:he [[PyrrhicVictory loses his girlfriend]], [[SanitySlippage his nerves]], and very nearly his life. Just when it looks as if he's managed to beat the odds and get out in one piece, [[KarmaHoudiniWarranty he ends up getting shot dead by the one cop who distrusted him from the very beginning]].]]

** An undercover investigation into the Boston mob would probably be conducted by the Boston Police Department, not a state police force. However, there ''is'' a BDP city cop undercover among Costello's crew, and its doubtful he limits his criminal activities to the city itself, which might be why the State Police are involved.

* WhiteSheep: Costigan's deceased father was this to the rest of his criminal family. Unlike Costigan's various uncles with their long rap sheets, and his small-time, [[StupidCrooks idiot cousins]], Costigan's dad made a meager but honest living as a baggage handler at the airport. Which is not to say that dear old dad lived entirely on the straight and narrow, or that he was ''incapable'' of being a force in the criminal underworld if he'd chosen a life of crime, simply that he decided not to be involved in it. Costello notes that in his prime, Costigan Senior would have gone on a rampage and tried to kill [[TheCorruptor Costello]] and anyone who got between the two men just at the thought of Costello leading his son astray.

* IllKillYou: Billy says this to Sullivan in the elevator.

** Costigan and Sullivan are both Southie Irish kids. Costigan comes from a corrupt mob-connected family but honestly wants to be a cop and goes undercover into the very life he hates as part of a RedemptionQuest. Sullivan is a poor slum kid who seems to have a squeaky clean and crime free record, but has been under the influence of the ruthless gangster Costello ever since Sullivan was a kid, and becomes Sullivan's [[TheMole mole]] within the police.

** Likewise, the Massachusetts state police academy is in East Braintree, a small town outside Worcester, not Boston.

* PetTheDog: Sullivan [[spoiler:having previously deleted Costigan from the computer system after realizing the latter found out he was Costello's rats, reveals Costigan's identity to the other officers and recommends him for the Medal of Merit after Barrigan kills him and Brown. Costigan is given a full police funeral as a result.]]

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Staff Sgt. Sean Dignam. He is a rude, obnoxious bully who needlessly antagonizes everyone he comes in contact with, but is dedicated to the job and fiercely loyal to Queenan.

* HollywoodHacking: Sullivan deletes all of Costigan's records to hide his own tracks. Needless to say, this would be impossible in real life, as very, very few users in any large organization have full Erase privileges over employee records, and even if records were somehow erased, they could easily be restored from automatic backups.

* AlliterativeName: Madolyn Madden.

* DeceasedFallGuyGambit: Arguable. It's possible that after his death, Delahunt's identity as a cop (if he even was one) is intentionally made public in order to take the heat off of Costigan.
** [[spoiler: Sullivan pins all the mole activity on Barrigan after the latter's death.]]

** A lot of old gangster movie tropes are overturned. Police work isn't an avenue for redemption, but a line of work. Costigan's desire for redeeming his family name [[spoiler:ends up getting him killed.]] Sullivan sees law enforcement as a cynical career move [[spoiler:and betrays his criminal allies not out of moral outrage but to cover his tracks]]. As for the Church and reforming priests trying to reform criminals a la ''Film/AngelsWithDirtyFaces'', here they are pedophiles who get blackmailed by an AxCrazy sleazebag mob boss. Likewise, most of the problems happen because the Staties, Boston P. D., and the FBI fail to collaborate with each other and screw over each other rather than do what they are supposed to do.
** The lack of communication between departments and obsession with a need-to-know basis makes for PoorCommunicationKills as much as it keeps informants safe. Costigan goes through a ''lot'' of trouble trying to find out the mole due to his only liasons being his two superior officers, who are the only people who know he's even a cop to begin with. The biggest impediment the cops have in catching Costello isn't the mob, but rather [[spoiler: their own allies in the FBI, who have nabbed Costello as a stooge and are desperately keeping him alive to the point of going against the BPD.]] All in all, the situation's lack of communication between parties doesn't so much keep security as it does encourage paranoia and distrust.

** The first time Costello calls Sullivan for an update, he is angry with him for not keeping him in the loop on his psychiatrist wife and the snazzy new apartment. When they meet again face to face in a porn movie theater he owns and Sullivan informs him that he’s being reassigned to hunt himself, Costello nonchalantly and calmly replies he already heard with Colin asking how did he know in advance without the anger of the former not being informed in advance. [[spoiler:It’s later revealed he had Barrigan has his other mole in the Staties to keep tabs on Sullivan.]]

* GreaterScopeVillain: [[spoiler:The FBI. Costello is their stooge, and the InterserviceRivalry and JurisdictionFriction they facillate leads to Costello escaping the meeting with the Chinese gangs, Costigan extending his time undercover and finally Sullivan betraying Costello and his crew to cover up his actions, and generally the massive GambitPileup that leads to everybody dying at the end]].

* HairTriggerTemper: Costigan, Costello and Dignam.

* HeroicBSOD: Costigan and Sullivan have a ''simultaneous'' one when they are [[spoiler:on the phone together after Queenan's death]]. Although Sullivan's is probably more of an Anti-Heroic version.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Frank told Colin as a kid not to let anyone tell him what to do. [[spoiler:Frank's an FBI rat]].

* InvulnerableKnuckles: Inverted. Costigan injures his left hand punching out a goon in a bar fight and has to have it put in a cast. Which comes back to bite him when Costello thinks the cast is a ruse to conceal a wire and inspect it rather roughly.
** Funnily enough, this is based on a scene in the original film where the cast ''is'' fake.

* JustAGangster: Costello can't think beyond being an old fashioned gangster, and he lives and acts like a 30s gangster transplanted into the 21st Century. He and his outfit only survive as long as they do because [[spoiler:he's a stooge for the FBI, who use Costello to crack down on other, more dangerous gangs like the Chinese, who are involved in bigger schemes]]. Sullivan, who is a cold SocialClimber, wants to study law and become a politician, but Costello sneers at his legitimate ambitions, or living any life other than his old school gangster ways. [[spoiler:In the end Sullivan finds out about Costello's complicity with the FBI, and wipes him and his whole gang out so Sullivan can cover his tracks and try to move ahead with his legitimate ambitions]].

* TheOneWhoMadeItOut: Sullivan while serving as an undercover cop gradually becomes a DragonWithAnAgenda, in that he wants to study law and start a political career (as implied by his constant gazing at the Boston State Legislature), Costello keeps reminding him of who he's serving. [[spoiler:Then Sullivan finds out he's TheMole for the FBI and has dirt on him that can sabotage his future, so he decides to kill everyone in his organization and use the success as a platform for a new career. And he would have gotten away with it too, if it hadn't been for Dignam in his Track Pants]].

** For Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio, it is explained within the story that Costigan faked his accent based on the social situation.

* PetTheDog: Sullivan[[spoiler:, having previously deleted Costigan from the computer system after realizing the latter found out he was Costello's rats, reveals Costigan's identity to the other officers and recommends him for the Medal of Merit after Barrigan kills him and Brown. Costigan is given a full police funeral as a result.]]

* RightHandVersusLeftHand: What the movie amounts to. The Massachusetts State Police (Staties) send a mole into Frank Costello's organization (Costigan), he finds out that Costello is in fact a FBI mole and the Feds are screwing the Staties over. Later, [[spoiler:Delahunt is revealed to be possibly another mole, only from the Boston Police Department. Essentially a massive GambitPileup between city, state, and national police who fail to collaborate or trust each other]].

* WhiteSheep: Costigan's deceased father was this to the rest of his criminal family. Unlike Costigan's various uncles with their long rap sheets, and his small-time, [[StupidCrooks idiot cousins]], Costigan's dad made a meager but honest living as a baggage handler at the airport. Costello notes that in his prime, Costigan Senior would have gone on a rampage and tried to kill [[TheCorruptor Costello]] and anyone who got between the two men out of sheer fury at the thought of Costello leading his son astray.

''The Departed'' is a 2006 American crime thriller film directed by Creator/MartinScorsese, written by William Monahan, produced by Graham King, Creator/BradPitt, and Brad Grey, and stars Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio, Creator/MattDamon, Creator/JackNicholson, Creator/MarkWahlberg, Creator/MartinSheen, and Creator/AlecBaldwin. The film is a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong crime thriller ''Film/InfernalAffairs''.

** The film makes many references to other FilmNoir about police informers, such as ''Film/WhiteHeat'' and Creator/SamuelFuller's ''Underworld U.S.A.''.
** The constant shots of the Boston State Legislature is one to Richard Fleischer's ''The Boston Strangler''.

** That recording Madolyn listens to is inside a CD case of ''Music/ExileOnMainStreet''.

** A couple to Shakespeare. Queenan drops "the readiness is all" from ''Hamlet'' in a scene where he's telling Sullivan to start the police raid. Later Costello slightly botches a quote from ''Henry IV Part 2'', saying "Heavy lies the crown" (it's actually "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown").

** Costigan and Sullivan are both Southie Irish kids. Costigan comes from a corrupt mob-connected family who goes undercover into the very life he hates for a RedemptionQuest, Sullivan is a poor slum kid who becomes an undercover cop who wants to become legitimate.

--> '''Costello''': When I was your age they would say we can become cops, or criminals. Today, what I'm saying to you is this: when you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?

''The Departed'' is a 2006 American crime-thriller film and remake of the 2002 Hong Kong crime thriller ''Film/InfernalAffairs''.

''The Departed'' was directed by Creator/MartinScorsese, written by William Monahan, produced by Graham King, Creator/BradPitt, and Brad Grey, and stars Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio, Creator/MattDamon, Creator/JackNicholson, Creator/MarkWahlberg, Creator/MartinSheen, and Creator/AlecBaldwin. The film was nominated for five [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAward Academy Awards]] at the 79th Academy Awards of which it won four; Best Picture for Graham King, Best Director for Martin Scorsese, Best Adapted Screenplay for William Monahan and Best Film Editing for Thelma Schoonmaker. It was the first Best Director win for Scorsese. Mark Wahlberg was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor (he lost to Creator/AlanArkin for ''Film/LittleMissSunshine'')

* FriendsRentControl: Lampshaded and justified. A realtor casually questions how an unmarried state police detective can afford an extravagant apartment with a view of the Capitol Building. Sullivan, of course, can afford it due to being Costello's mole.

Meanwhile, William "Billy" Costigan, Jr. (Leonardo [=DiCaprio=]) is seeking to become a cop, despite the fact that he comes from a family that has a very disreputable past and numerous ties to organized crime. His interviewers eventually decide, when Billy refuses to be intimidated out of dropping out of the academy, to arrange for him to go to prison on a trumped-up assault charge, giving him a criminal record and street cred so that he can infiltrate Costello's crew. When both sides of the law realize the situation, both Colin and Billy attempt to discover the other mole's true identity before being found out.

* TheOneWhoMadeItOut: Sullivan while serving as an undercover cop gradually becomes a DragonWithAnAgenda, in that he wants to study law and start a political career (as implied by his constant gazing at the Boston State Legislature), Costello keeps reminding him of who he's serving. [[spoiler:Then Sullivan finds out he's TheMole for the FBI and has dirt on him that can sabotage his future, so he decides to go KillEmAll on his organization and use the success as a platform for a new career. And he would have gotten away with it too, if it hadn't been for Dignam in his Track Pants]].