protagonists who struggle to live up to their idealised selves. The same can be said of Travis Bickle as it can of Jake LaMotta, Rupert Pupkin, Howard Hughes, the Dalai Lama, Bob Dylan, Jesus Christ, and many others. The plot of “The Departed” revolves on two guys whose private and public lives are complete opposites. Both the collapse and the deadly betrayal of their plans are quite real possibilities. The movie is available to watch on repelis for free. In recounting their tales, good and evil assume the identities of one another.
Similar to Infernal Affairs
The most popular Hong Kong movie of recent years, “Infernal Affairs” (2002), was written by Alan Mak and directed by Andrew Lau. In fact, I just reread my review of that film from 2004 and realised that I could swap out the names, copy/paste the review, and be talking about this picture instead. Yet that would only include the storyline and some superficial philosophical profundities. The underlying topic and Scorsese’s utilisation of actors and locales set this apart from other similar films on rojadirecta. I often believe that a film’s success depends less on its subject matter and more on how that subject is handled. That’s true of every picture directed by Martin Scorsese.
Early Excitement
Set in Boston rather than, say, New York or Las Vegas, the opening scene of this one is reminiscent of the one at the soda fountain in ‘GoodFellas’. The film’s early excitement has been purposefully removed. Instead of a youngster who aspires to become a gangster in the real world, we have two impostors: one who becomes a police officer and another who becomes a criminal.
Cast
Colin Sullivan, played by Matt Damon, was observed by mafia leader Frank Costello in the soda fountain (Jack Nicholson). Years after Costello has picked him out as a prospective spy, he enlists in the state police. Captain. Queenan (Martin Sheen) sends space police cadet Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) undercover to join Costello’s gang. Both men are able to advance in their respective professions by adopting false identities; Colin in law enforcement and Billy in organised crime.
To pull off the gangster persona well, one must be willing to break the law. If you want to be a good policeman, you have to be willing to bust anybody, no matter how close you are to them. If you try to hide your true employment, you’ll seem suspicious. Each guy in “The Departed” only knows one or two of the men on the side he’s working for, tightening the noose even more. Who can testify that Billy is indeed a policeman if his boss, Captain Queenan, is murdered?
Conclusion
The substantial tension in the novel is generated by human nature. Both men, after misleading the other for some time, begin to identify with and want the praise of the other man. Possible manifestation of Stockholm syndrome; politicians who steal from the public but view themselves as for the public good sometimes have similar symptoms.
