Paper Example on The Departed: Climbing from Humble Beginnings to Serving the Law

The Departed is a gangster film directed by Scorsese, which takes place in Boston. The film features Billy Costigan as the protagonist since all the action and events rotate around him as undercover police. Moreover, the film shows how Costigan manages to climb from a humble background to a police training camp to the point of him ending up as an undercover officer. Thus Costigan also emerges as a developing character (The Departed). Costigan’s commitment to serving the law brings out the antagonistic nature of Frank Costello, who runs the gangster syndicate in Boston. The antagonism presented by Frank Costello is the main problem of the Massachusetts State police that forces them to send an undercover officer in the syndicate. This essay analyses the criminal gang’s characters and the police officers as they operate in Boston, Massachusetts.

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The film exposes the unethical behavior of some of the police officers who take money from the criminals to protect and give them information that aids their illegal operations. Perhaps one of the film’s biggest irony emerges from the fact that the Massachusetts State police have undercover police in the criminal syndicate. In contrast, the gangsters have their undercover informant in the police department (The Departed). Billy Costigan’s role exposes Colin Sullivan’s character as a foil since the two characters serve the purpose of being undercover operatives. However, Colin Sullivan works against his team by giving confidential information to the gangster mob.

Additionally, Sullivan plays the role of a dynamic character who is involved in many roles as an investigator, head of a Special Unit, and an informant to the criminal gang. As a result, Costigan becomes distressed by discovering there is a considerable possibility that fellow cops are working with criminals. Billy Costigan ended up sharing his emotions with Dr. Madolyn Madden, who is the counselor for the Massachusetts State Police. Dr. Madden is the confidant of many police officers who suffer emotional distress emanating from their line of duty (The Departed).

Another character that plays a vital role in ensuring Costigan goes undercover is Sergeant Dignam, who appears a tough boss who demands results by all means. The film does not feature much about him; hence he ends up being a static character. However, he gets portrayed as a character who uses vulgar language, thereby exposing the dirty nature of a gangster syndicate (The Departed). Furthermore, Dignam shows the frustration their police depart have in arresting one of the most significant criminal suspect, Frank Costello. However, Costello displays his round character by emerging as a well-respected gang leader. The film exposes Costello’s role as ruthless, wealthy, and a person who loves women and lavish life.

William Monahan, who is the screenwriter, uses the character organization of police officers and criminal gangs - to expose the corruption and unprofessional code of conduct among the public officer. The dramatic question that replete in the whole film is that will Costigan undercover officers gather enough evidence against Frank Costello? As the audience continues pondering over the dramatic question, the complication emerges when Sullivan tells Costello there was a police spy in his group (The Departed). The new information forces Costello to look for the spy hence making Costigan’s work complicated. Furthermore, Sullivan’s complication emerges when the head of police departments starts looking for the mole within the police unit.

Conclusion

Furthermore, Costigan and Sullivan’s character analysis brings out their exposition as the people who know what they want. The two officers choose the exact line of duty they want to engage in while at the police academy. However, the two serve the parallel purpose of becoming a good cop and the other a bad one. Furthermore, the film exposes the biggest ironies whereby Sullivan becomes the head of a particular investigation unit while Sergeant Dignam, a good cop, is suspected. Another essential element that occurs in the film is that of foreshadowing. The scene where foreshadowing occurs is when Costigan gives Dr. Madden a letter telling her to release it in two weeks if anything was to happen to him. The foreshadowing scene gets fulfilled when Costigan dies after being shot by one of Costello’s informants in the police unit (The Departed). The scene brings about the element of denouement, whereby Dignam kills Sullivan in his house. There is a very high possibility that shows Dr. Madden gave Dignam the letter exposing Sullivan as the dirty cop. Hence, the action prompted Dignam to kill Sullivan.

Works Cited

The Departed, Box Office, 6 Oct. 2006, moviesanywhere.com/movie/the-departed.