With the Luck of the Irish...

by Anastasia Papas (the godmotherr)

If anybody knows me they know that ever since Good Will Hunting I was obsessed with Matt Damon. Due to this obsession it only made sense that I watch one of his most acclaimed films, The Departed. In addition to that, I've been living in Boston for almost a year now and I felt it somewhat necessary to watch the film since it's based in Boston and revolves around the Massachusetts state police and the Irish mafia prevalent in the city. But mostly because Matt Damon. And also, Leonardo DiCaprio. And Mark Wahlberg. But mostly Matt Damon.

I had heard many praises of the film, but I didn't realize how good it actually was. At the 79th Annual Academy Awards in 2007 the film was nominated in 5 categories and won 4 of them - including Best Picture and Best Director (who, by the way, was Martin Scorsese). In addition to the heartthrobs I've already mentioned, the film boasts the talents of Jack Nicholson who plays the notorious, real-life, American-Italian mafia crime boss Frank Costello. The Departed was released in October of 2006 and was an immediate success, gathering ratings of 8.5/10 from IMdB, 4/4 from Roger Ebert and 91% from Rotten Tomatoes. The film is a remake of the Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs, and although the storyline is essentially identical, the way in which the film has been directed and shot is absolutely stunning and adds even more meaning to the plot as well as to each character. The film focusses on two metaphorical 'rats', Billy Costigan (DiCaprio) and Colin Sullivan (Damon), who are both trying to infiltrate and break down their allotted workforces. Billy is working undercover for the Massachusetts state police department and Colin is Costello's (Nicholson) secret spy within the station. Throughout the film we see what each rat undertakes and goes through, and most importantly, the vital differences between the two characters. 

When I was watching the film I realized that one of the themes that the film centers on is Appearance vs. Reality (hello, high school Shakespeare lessons -  I never thought you would come in handy) and this theme is explored through the character development of both Billy and Colin. We learn very quickly that Colin is attracted to money. Right in the first scene Colin, as a youngling, is easily persuaded into a life of crime by none other than Frank Costello himself. He's raised and conditioned to fulfill the task of infiltrating the MA state police department and to work as a double agent which he achieves very early on in the film. Billy on the other hand is selected by the MA state police to work undercover for Costello. Where Colin thrives, succeeds and gets the girl Billy loses his identity, is mistreated and suffers from traumatic stress. Each character deserves the others experiences: Billy, who has a moral compass and genuinely wants to work as a cop to better his society and community, should be the one in Colin's position whereas Colin who lies and deceives everyone around him and is only in it for the money, should be treated as lowly as Billy is treated. However, their outer appearances mask their inner character: Colin is a smiling, smooth-talking devil and Billy is a caring, good-hearted man who is camouflaged by his harsh reality talk. This oxymoron perfectly fits into the realm of Appearance vs. Reality which promotes the thought of what appears to be is not. There are several montages in the film where these characters parallel one another and the shots that contrast Billy and Colin completely capture the viewer.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the female lead in the film, Madolyn (played by Vera Farmiga) and her influence on both of the 'rats'. Madolyn is a mental health professional and is in a relationship with Colin, but she forms a special relationship with Billy after she has a session with him wherein they have an interesting conversation about lies and truth. In my opinion, Scorsese and the writers make it blatantly clear that Billy and Madolyn are more suited to be a couple. They both believe in community service and are not fascinated by shiny things, as Colin is. The trigger for me that made me come to this realization was in the scene where Madolyn is moving in with Colin. He picks out a frame of hers that holds a not so glamorous photo of Madolyn as a child. He makes it clear that she cannot hang the picture up on the wall and that it should be hidden away. A little while later in the film when Billy pays a visit to Madolyn in her old apartment, he picks up the same photo of Madolyn (which she obviously brought back due to Colin's dislike) and hangs it up on the wall for her. This parallel with the photo frame acts as a distinctive hint for the viewer as to who would be the better couple. 

Overall, this film is a big 'YES' for me. I love Martin Scorsese's classic way of directing and the human essence he brings to all of his films. Scorsese really poses the question of whether or not people benefit physically from retaining their moral compasses. Not only does he contrast the outcome of this question with the two main characters against each other, but I appreciate how he doesn't sugarcoat Billy's trauma and hurt from his years of living without his true identity. True identity and what it means is yet another topic Scorsese deals with and I think it's safe to say the film does a pretty good job of showing both sides of that. Additionally - being a symbolism freak - I enjoy seeing the subtle signs and ironies that the writers have left for the viewer. A line that made me laugh from Billy's character is when he says to Madolyn, "You don't have any cats?" to which she replies no and he goes on to say, "I like that." Obviously he likes that because he's a 'rat' and cats sniff out rats and take them out (haha). In true mafia movie form the film includes violence and a lot of blood as well as strong language, so I do warn sensitive viewers, but don't let that stop you from watching it. From the amazing featured song "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" to all the questions of our human existence The Departed truly is a masterpiece and I enjoyed every minute of it. 

The Verdict: 9/10

- the godmotherr