The departed who is it about

Essential Guide to Matt Damon. A Guide to the Films of Martin Scorsese. Video Photos Top cast Edit. Leonardo DiCaprio Billy as Billy. Matt Damon Colin as Colin. Jack Nicholson Costello as Costello. Mark Wahlberg Dignam as Dignam. Martin Sheen Queenan as Queenan. Ray Winstone Mr. French as Mr. Vera Farmiga Madolyn as Madolyn.

Anthony Anderson Brown as Brown. Alec Baldwin Ellerby as Ellerby. James Badge Dale Barrigan as Barrigan. Mark Rolston Delahunt as Delahunt. Kristen Dalton Gwen as Gwen. Thomas B. Duffy Governor as Governor. MacKenzie Realtor as Realtor. Martin Scorsese. More like this. Watch options. Storyline Edit.

In this crime-action tour de force, the South Boston state police force is waging war on Irish-American organized crime. Taking them to the station would give Dignam all he needs to take Sullivan down once and for all.

The recordings incriminate and expose him for being in Costello's back pocket the entire time. By proxy, he's responsible for the deaths of both Costigan and Cpt. Queenan Martin Sheen , prompting Dignam to go out and avenge his fallen friends. After Dignam takes Sullivan's life and leaves him to bleed out in his apartment, the camera tilts up to the Boston skyline. We focus on the back window of the apartment, lingering on the view for a moment.

On the window is a lone rat seen sniffing around for a bit before the credits roll. It's a metaphor that's perfectly fitting when you take in the entire story of The Departed. Aside from the larger organized-crime- versus-law-enforcement plotline, the core of the movie is about two rats: Sullivan and Costigan. One is a criminal pulling the MSP's strings from the inside, while the other is an officer attempting to infiltrate one of the biggest Irish mobs in the country.

In the end, they both wind up dead with nothing really to show for it. Their methodology remained the same no matter who they were representing.

Showing a live rat in the final shot of the movie simply drives that point home. Their purpose is to eventually rise within the prestigious ranks of the state police department, to serve as the eyes and ears of their boss. While somewhere else, a young cadet was assigned with an equally dangerous task: infiltrate the Irish syndicate headed by the man sending in his own to the Massachusetts State Police. Now, one cadet is an up and coming police official with a torn allegiance to his job and to the criminal mastermind that put him there.

While the other cadet is the trusted number two of that man, only finding his professional duties are becoming blurred with his current state. But new clues have lead to unfortunate discoveries, when both sides realize they're being watched by the enemy. Sign In. Edit The Departed Jump to: Summaries 6 Synopsis 1. The synopsis below may give away important plot points. Getting Started Contributor Zone ». Edit page. Top Gap. See more gaps ».