THE DEPARTED Post-release discussion - Page 9

I've been watching the shit out of THE DEPARTED since I got it on DVD, and I recently thought of a couple of questions on some plot points...

1) If Delahunt is an undercover for the Boston PD (as is stated in the newscast), why would he have participated in Queenan's murder? Queenan, right before being tossed off the building, unclips his holster and his badge is plainly visible on his belt.

2) What information does Costigan have in the envelope that would prove Sullivan to be the mole in the department? This occurs before he has the recordings from Costello's lawyer, and he already has no access to any of Queenan's files since he goes to ground after fleeing the police station. It would seem to just be a lot of allegations without support, yet there has to be something in the envelope that conclusively would show Sullivan's guilt (what else would be in there?).

Delahunt's not an informant. They named him as one so that Costello would stop trying to sniff Leo out. Costello comes to that conclusion in that very scene.

Yeah, but why didn't Delahunt give up Costigan then if he wasn't an undercover officer? And by that point in the movie, Costello is so paranoid that it's hard to trust his judgment at all.

Doesn't Delahunt essentially tell Costigan he is an informant (undercover) when he's about to die?

Here's a trip, Delahunt is Drake from ALIENS.

I'm pretty sure he was undercover, actually - for the same reason mentioned - he didn't give Costigan up. It's quite possible that he wasn't a Statie though. I forget exactly what the news anchor says.

As far as participating in the murder well, I doubt he had much of a say in Queenan getting tossed out of the window. It all seemed to happen pretty fast leading me to believe there was a struggle and Queenan got thrown out (probably by someone other than Delahunt).

"Tell me why I didn't say anything, Billy. ERRRRKKK..."

Yeah, I think he was a cop.

Actually, I read that moment as he wasn't going to give him up out of respect for Costigan's dad and/or uncle. My initial impression was that Delahunt was NOT a cop and that the newscast was planted to throw Costello off the scent.

That said, i could be wrong, I've only seen the movie once so far.

The only reason to think he's not a cop is because Costello says that after the news report. But at that point Costello is losing it and is paranoid about his crew. What he thinks doesn't mean all that much.

Delahunt HAD to be a cop. He gives the deathbed line and then two scenes later the news says that he was undercover for Boston PD. The dots are there to connect too easily for the answer to be anything else.

That's probably the whole of it. But Delahunt is the first out of the elevator, jamming a shotgun into Queenan's face. And then he's firing on officers as everyone's running out of the building (altho they never identified themselves as cops, just started shooting). It might just be that Delahunt had become so entrenched in Costello's gang that he couldn't differentiate anymore; he was what Costigan would become if he had went on as an informant. Then not giving up Costigan would be like Delahunt's final attempt to salvage whatever was left of his sense of duty.

Only thing I recognized him from was RUSH HOUR, as the lead FBI guy.

Scorsese intended it to be ambigous, but the extended version of this scene on the DVD really helps the argument that he's a cop.

There's absolutely no follow-up to Delahunt being an undercover cop. No one in the department mentions it. Damon doesn't mention it, Dignam doesn't bring it up after Queenan's death and Costigan doesn't ask about it once he comes in. The film leaves Costello's assertion as the final say so.

Delahunt doesn't say,"You know why I didn't say anything?" and then bites it. He said, "Tell me why I didn't say anything." He asks that because he, himself, doesn't know. He's gutshot, he knows he's probably going to die and instead of giving Billy up he chooses to take the information to his grave.

Hit enter before reading Greg's post. Do you care to elaborate on the scene as I haven't picked up the dvd yet and was pretty set on the idea of Delahunt not being undercover.

The newscast says that Delahunt was undercover for Boston PD, not the Staties, thus no one would have known who he was in Dignam's and Damon's respective departments.

The line would be much more ambiguous if not for the newscast. If there were no newscast then I would agree with your interpretation, but I still believe Delahunt was undercover.

I bought this on DVD today, but later tonight, my housemate, a pretty conservative Christian from South Africa, asked to borrow a movie. She asked what new movies I had, and I didn't mention 'The Departed' to her, believing that never in a million years -- and that she had to have heard about how profane and violent it was -- would she watch it.

When I get back from doing laundry, she says to me, "I tried watching 'The Departed' but turned it off. The language was atrocious and Leonardo DiCaprio looks like a little kid."

...

Racist.

No, nationality-ist. South African is not a race. ('South African' encompasses many racial groups. British, Dutch, Ndebele/Nguni, Swazi, Lesotho, Nambian, Vatsonga, etc. all occupy RSA.) I suppose they might theoretically categorize as a "race" under the "unified by shared interests, habits, or characteristics" definition if they ever start all getting along with one another. Sadly, that goal of the Rainbow Nation is yet to be achieved.

Just got through watching the movie for the first time in a long time.  I've always been a little harsher on this movie than I would've been had it not been a Scorcese film.  It's supreme entertainment, definitely.  That much was clear the first time I saw it.  But I never felt that it was 'great.'  After tonight's watch, my reaction is about the same.

 

I've concluded that part of the reason may be due to the fact that I have difficulty engaging with DiCaprio's performances.  When he's given quiet moments to work with, he's magnetic and charming.  When he has to be tortured... boy, does he amp up the shrill petulance.  I felt similarly during a couple of scenes in Inception.  I admire Leo's talents, but when he goes 'intense' it always reeks of effort to me (though I do love the triple-elbow-to-the-face he gives Matt Damon at the end of the movie).  It's not too far off from how I often feel about Tom Cruise's performances.  But when it comes to DiCaprio, I realize I may be in the minority.

 

The performance I really savor in this movie is Matt Damon's.  Charming.  Smarmy.  Weasel!

 

I also watched the film again to see if I could make sense of an old criticism Damon (of the Houx variety) made about Shoonmaker's editing on the film (in the old thread about Kenneth Lonergan's Margaret).  But it seems like this thread was mostly dedicated to studying the intricacies of The Life of Dingham.  Hehehehe.

The editing on this film doesn't exactly work, but it's pretty neat. It really helps nail the sense that both Damon and DiCaprio are trapped by choices made early in their lives, and events keep rushing onward. It gives it a sense of urgency that other Scorsese films around this time don't have. The trouble is it still seems fat: the psychiatrist love interest stuff, no matter how faithful to the original, and other things like Jack Nicholson hamming it up, are not vital.

I love the editing of this film. Maybe that's because I never notice continuity errors.

Hoooooux!  Where are yooooux!?  

 

You can't leave me hanging with this exchange from 2 years ago!!!

 

 

I'm not sure if you're talking about the editing in terms of structure and pacing, or in the general style of it.

Can somebody help me find Devin's review?  For the life of me, I cannot find it in search on the front page.

 

Here you go.

Thank you. CHUD's design was beating me.

For the older stuff, I use Google and search the site by putting in:

 

site:chud.com

 

... and put...

 

"the departed" 2006

 

right after it.

 

Sometimes it takes a couple tries to find what I'm looking for.

Both. Love it.