The Departed (2006)

Last updated:
October 9, 2026

Two men spend years pretending to be each other’s opposite, and neither survives the lie. The Departed turns Boston into a maze of wiretaps, burner phones, and bad faith. Martin Scorsese directs it like a man with nothing left to prove, and the result is a crime thriller that punishes almost everyone on screen.

Table of Contents

Detailed Summary

Frank Costello Recruits a Boy

Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) runs the Irish mob in South Boston. He spots young Colin Sullivan in a corner shop and buys him groceries. That small kindness is an investment.

Years later, Colin (Matt Damon) graduates from the Massachusetts State Police academy. He joins the Special Investigations Unit, which targets organized crime. In other words, Costello now owns a detective inside the team hunting him.

Billy Costigan Goes Under

Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) also wants a badge. However, his family has deep ties to Southie crime. Captain Queenan (Martin Sheen) and Sergeant Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) see an opportunity in that history.

They offer Billy a brutal deal. He will drop out, serve prison time on a staged assault charge, and then infiltrate Costello’s crew. Only Queenan and Dignam will know he is a cop.

Earning Costello’s Trust

Billy starts dealing drugs with his cousin Sean. He soon gets noticed after beating two Providence mobsters in a convenience store. Mr. French (Ray Winstone), Costello’s enforcer, brings him in.

Costello tests him first. He smashes Billy’s injured hand to check his cast for a wire. Billy passes, and the paranoia begins to eat him alive.

One Woman, Two Liars

Colin charms Madolyn Madden (Vera Farmiga), a police psychiatrist, and they move in together. Meanwhile, Billy becomes her patient as part of his probation. Their sessions turn combative, then intimate.

She ends up sleeping with Billy while living with Colin. Neither man knows about the other.

The Microprocessor Deal

Costello arranges to sell stolen microprocessors to Chinese buyers. Billy texts details to Queenan from inside the deal. Colin, standing in the surveillance room, quietly warns Costello about the cameras.

Costello’s crew escapes through a blind spot. As a result, both sides reach the same conclusion: each has a rat.

The Chase Through Chinatown

Costello collects personal details from his crew in an envelope. He hands it to Colin inside an adult movie theater. Billy follows Colin out and tails him through Chinatown.

Colin senses the pursuit and stabs an innocent man by mistake. Billy never sees his face. It is one of the most frustrating near misses in modern thrillers.

Queenan Falls

Colin orders a tail on Queenan, claiming the captain might be the mole. He then tips off Costello’s men about Queenan’s rooftop meeting with Billy. Queenan sends Billy down the fire escape and faces the crew alone.

They throw him off the building. His body lands at Billy’s feet.

Dignam explodes at Colin afterward and leaves the force on suspension. Billy now has no handler and no proof he was ever a cop.

Costello’s Last Stand

A dying crew member, Delahunt, tells Billy he knows the truth. He gave Billy the wrong address, yet Billy arrived at the right one. Delahunt dies without telling anyone else.

Colin then learns that Costello is a protected FBI informant. Consequently, he fears Costello will eventually sell him out. He uses Billy’s tip to ambush a cocaine pickup.

A shootout wipes out the crew. Colin corners Costello, who admits everything and fires at him. Colin shoots his mentor dead and returns to the office a hero.

Movie Ending

Billy walks into police headquarters to reclaim his identity. Colin, all smiles, promises him a medal and steps out to pull his file. On the desk, Billy spots the envelope from the theater. He recognizes it instantly because Fitzy misspelled “citizens” on it.

Billy slips out before Colin returns. Colin understands what happened and deletes Billy’s records from the system. For a moment, Billy Costigan officially does not exist.

Billy still has one weapon. Costello secretly recorded his conversations with Colin, and his lawyer passed the tapes to Billy. He mails a copy to Madolyn, who listens in horror and walks out on Colin.

Next, Billy arranges a meeting on the same rooftop where Queenan died. He beats Colin, cuffs him, and marches him to the elevator. Trooper Brown arrives, confused about whom to trust.

Then the doors open on the ground floor. Trooper Barrigan shoots Billy in the head without warning. He kills Brown too, and reveals that Costello had more than one mole in the department.

Colin does not hesitate. He shoots Barrigan and pins the entire conspiracy on him. At Billy’s funeral, a pregnant Madolyn walks past Colin without a word. Scorsese never confirms who the father is.

Colin seems to have won. He comes home with groceries and finds Dignam waiting in his apartment, wearing gloves and shoe covers. Colin says “Okay,” and Dignam shoots him.

Why does Dignam act? Earlier, Billy gave Madolyn an envelope to open if anything happened to him. In all likelihood, that evidence reached Dignam, though the film leaves this unstated. Justice arrives outside the system because the system failed completely.

Finally, a rat scurries across the balcony railing, with the gold dome of the Massachusetts State House behind it. Subtle it is not. Still, the image fits a story where every institution has vermin.

Are There Post-Credits Scenes?

No. The Departed has no mid-credits or post-credits scenes. That rat on the balcony is the last thing Scorsese wants you to see.

Type of Movie

The Departed is a crime thriller with strong elements of police procedural and gangster drama. Its tone is tense, profane, and darkly funny. Beneath the insults and gunfire, it plays as a tragedy about identity and loyalty.

Cast

Leonardo DiCaprio – Billy Costigan
Matt Damon – Colin Sullivan
Jack Nicholson – Frank Costello
Mark Wahlberg – Staff Sergeant Sean Dignam
Martin Sheen – Captain Oliver Queenan
Vera Farmiga – Madolyn Madden
Ray Winstone – Mr. French
Alec Baldwin – Captain George Ellerby
Anthony Anderson – Trooper Brown
James Badge Dale – Trooper Barrigan
David O’Hara – Fitzy
Mark Rolston – Delahunt
Kevin Corrigan – Cousin Sean

Film Music and Composer

Howard Shore composed the score. He is best known for The Lord of the Rings trilogy and has worked with Scorsese on several films. Here, he builds the music around guitars and a sly tango rhythm, which suits two men circling each other.

Scorsese’s song choices do just as much work. “Gimme Shelter” by The Rolling Stones opens the film with menace. In addition, “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” by Dropkick Murphys became permanently linked to the movie.

Other standouts include Patsy Cline’s “Sweet Dreams” and a live version of “Comfortably Numb” featuring Roger Waters and Van Morrison.

Filming Locations

Production took place in Boston and New York City. Boston supplied the exteriors that matter most, including South Boston streets, Chinatown, and views of the State House. Many interiors, on the other hand, came from New York, partly for financial reasons.

These settings shape the story. Southie’s tight neighborhoods explain why everyone knows everyone’s family history. Similarly, Colin’s apartment view of the golden dome shows exactly what he craves: status and legitimacy.

Awards and Nominations

The Departed won four Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay (William Monahan), and Best Film Editing (Thelma Schoonmaker). Mark Wahlberg earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination.

Notably, this was Scorsese’s first competitive Oscar for directing. He also won the Golden Globe and the Directors Guild of America award for the film.

Behind the Scenes Insights

Jack Nicholson improvised heavily. He reportedly surprised DiCaprio by pulling a real prop gun during their tense bar conversation.
Brad Pitt was once attached to star. He stayed on as a producer through his company, Plan B.
Mark Wahlberg has said he modeled Dignam on police officers who arrested him in his youth.
Scorsese has stated that he avoided watching Infernal Affairs before shooting, so he could build his own version from Monahan’s script.
William Monahan, a Boston native, filled the screenplay with local slang and neighborhood rivalries.

Inspirations and References

The Departed is a remake of the Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs (2002), directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. Monahan kept the dual mole structure and moved everything to Boston.

Real history shaped it too. Frank Costello draws clear inspiration from James “Whitey” Bulger, the Boston crime boss who worked as an FBI informant. Colin, in turn, echoes John Connolly, the corrupt agent who protected Bulger.

Scorsese also tips his hat to classic gangster cinema. For instance, his recurring “X” motif comes from Howard Hawks’ Scarface (1932).

Alternate Endings and Deleted Scenes

No alternate ending has ever surfaced. However, Scorsese has said the studio hoped one lead would survive, since a sequel looked attractive. He refused, and both men die as written.

Home releases include several deleted scenes with introductions by Scorsese. Most extend existing character moments instead of changing the plot.

Fans of the original should know that Infernal Affairs ends differently. There, the criminal mole walks away alive, haunted but unpunished.

Book Adaptations and Differences

The Departed is not based on a book. Its source is the Infernal Affairs screenplay by Alan Mak and Felix Chong.

Key differences are worth noting. Dignam has no direct counterpart in the original, so his final act of revenge is new. Furthermore, the remake merges two female characters into Madolyn, which tightens the triangle between the leads.

Memorable Scenes and Quotes

Key Scenes

Costello crushing Billy’s broken hand while questioning his loyalty.
The silent phone call between Billy and Colin after Queenan’s death, with neither man willing to speak first.
Queenan’s fall from the rooftop, which lands with horrifying suddenness.
The elevator doors opening on Billy’s death.
Dignam’s quiet execution of Colin in the final minutes.

Iconic Quotes

“I don’t want to be a product of my environment.” (Frank Costello)
“Do you want to be a cop, or do you want to appear to be a cop?” (Captain Queenan)
“I’m the guy who does his job. You must be the other guy.” (Dignam)
“Heavy lies the crown.” (Frank Costello)
“Just kill me.” “I am killing you.” (Colin and Billy)

Easter Eggs and Hidden Details

An “X” appears near characters who are marked for death. Look for it in windows, taped glass, floor patterns, and girders.
The misspelled “citizens” envelope gets set up early, when Billy corrects Fitzy’s spelling.
A clip from John Ford’s The Informer plays on a television, a fitting choice for a film about betrayal.
Costello stays in shadow during the opening narration, which makes him feel more like a myth than a man.
Colin’s last word, “Okay,” suggests a man who knows he has earned what comes next.

Trivia

Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas presented Scorsese with his Oscar.
This was the third collaboration between Scorsese and DiCaprio, after Gangs of New York and The Aviator.
Surprisingly, it marked the first time Nicholson and Scorsese worked together.
The title refers to the Catholic phrase “the faithful departed,” used for the dead.
At release, it became Scorsese’s highest-grossing film worldwide.

Why Watch?

Few thrillers juggle this many secrets with such confidence. Every performance crackles, and the script wastes nothing. Ultimately, The Departed delivers suspense, savage humor, and a gut-punch finale in one package. Watch it once for the plot, then again for the clues.

The Departed (2006)