The Martin Scorsese remake of the original Hong Kong movie going by the title of
Infernal Affairs, The Departed stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Billy Costigan, Matt Damon as Colin Sullivan, Jack Nicholson as Frank Costello, Martin Sheen as Captain Queenan, Mark Wahlberg as Dignam, Kristen Dalton as Gwen, and Alec Baldwin as Ellerby. Setting is Boston, Massachusetts present day. Two young men enter as new recruits into the police force. Billy Costigan is a young recruit who happens to fit the profile of what the Special Investigations Unit needs - smart (scored 1400 on his
SAT), honest hard working immediate family, but with more distant family - cousins and uncles who are bookies or drug dealers. In the eyes of captain Queenan and Dignam, this makes Billy both someone who they can trust, and at the same time makes Billy someone who would be believeable as a cop gone bad. Billy's first assignment is to intentionally get busted for a crime and to serve time in jail and pretend to get kicked out of the police force. This along with his family background makes him believeable as a cop gone bad. Soon after his fake dismissal from the police force, Billy enters Costello's gang, and little does Costello know that Billy is actually an undercover working for the police Special Investigations Unit. Billy's dismissal from the police force is made to seem genuine, and that it is all just an act is kept secret even from other police. Only people who know that Billy is actually an undercover cop is captain Queenan and Dignam. The other recruit who enters the police force is Colin Sullivan who becomes a statie, a member of the state police. Colin is loyal to Frank Costello, the mob leader the Special Investigations Unit is investigating. Colin first met Frank when Colin was a child and it seems their relationship and loyalties were bonded over the years. From within the police department, Colin is able to tip Costello off on police plans and efforts to try and bust Costello's gang. When both Costello and the police realize that there is a mole within their teams, a race beings to try and track down the other's mole. Disinformation is put out on both sides in an effort to track down their mole. The story is excellent and keeps you captivated and guessing.
