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The Departed

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02:24

The Departed

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• Crime/detective
• Drama

• 2006
• Martin Scorsese
• 145 mins
• 18

Summary

Oscar-winning crime drama starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson. In the brutal South Boston underworld, a criminal gang led by the ruthless Frank Costello plants a man in the police force in a concerted effort to keep one step ahead of the law. But the authorities also have their mole, and a deadly game of cat and mouse ensues as both men struggle to conceal their true identity.

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IMDB

Review

A star rating of 4 out of 5.

Leslie Felperin

After a run of solid, adventurous but ultimately underwhelming efforts (Gangs of New York, The Aviator), director Martin Scorsese returned to more familiar form with a superior, Boston-set cops-and-gangsters story based on the Hong Kong crime drama Infernal Affairs, and won the long-awaited best director Oscar for his trouble. Rookie cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is assigned to go deep undercover to help catch local Mafia godfather Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). Meanwhile, Costello has groomed Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) since puberty to be his spy on the force. The complex script (fluently adapted by William Monahan) rotates around these two moles, who orbit each other like twin suns for most of the movie, but only meet in the third act. It all makes for extremely watchable entertainment. The leads are luminous (especially Nicholson, doing his best work in years here), but supporting players Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin and Ray Winstone all steal scenes with glee.

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8.5/10

How to watch

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Streaming

• BBC iPlayer
• Prime Video

Credits

Cast

rolenameBilly CostiganLeonardo DiCaprioColin SullivanMatt DamonFrank CostelloJack NicholsonDignamMark WahlbergQueenanMartin SheenMr FrenchRay WinstoneMadolynVera FarmigaEllerbyAlec BaldwinBrownAnthony AndersonCousin SeanKevin CorriganBarriganJames Badge DaleFitzyDavid O'HaraTimothy DelahuntMark Rolston

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Crew

rolenameDirectorMartin Scorsese

Details

Theatrical distributor

Entertainment

Released on

2006-10-06

Languages

English

Guidance

Violence, swearing, sex scenes, nudity, drug abuse.

Available on

DVD and Blu-ray

Formats

Colour

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