The Departed

Legendary director Martin Scorsese takes the helm for this tale of questionable loyalties and blurring identities set in the South Boston organized crime scene and inspired by the wildly popular 2002 Hong Kong crime film Infernal Affairs. As the police force attempts to reign in the increasingly ...more

The Departed has all the earmarks of a standard undercover cop film. William Monahan's flawless script manages to juggle half a dozen major characters and another half-dozen important minor ones. We get the backstory for each of these characters, and we understand what draws them together so that their interactions feel motivated by behavior and psychology rather than just plot mechanics. With remarkable clarity, Monahan depicts the chain of command for competing police units as well as for the ...more