The Departed
So I finally saw the departed last night and I gotta say it was worth the wait.
The film heavily incorporates the culture and history of Boston. The first images are news clips from the busing riots of the 1970s, over which Costello muses about the city's troubled racial history. Several times, Dignam refers to Costigan as "lace curtain", a term used primarily in the Boston metropolitan area by working-class Irish-Americans and Italian-Americans to disparage upper-middle class Irish and Italians who have strayed from their roots. Despite the tendency of films to use generic phone numbers, Boston's 617 area code can be clearly seen on various characters' cell phones. The Massachusetts State House is also featured in the film as a symbol of Colin Sullivan's ambition. Boston Red Sox apparel is seen and worn. Costello and his gang drive over the Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge in one scene. TheJohn Hancock Tower is referenced by Costello. The film includes the song "I'm Shipping Up To Boston" by the Dropkick Murphys, an Irish-American punk rock band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts. Other references include state locations such as Route 128 (one twenty eight), regions such as the North Shore, there is a shot of the Park Street Station MBTA stop, local towns such as Brockton, Worcester, Gloucester, and Somerville, a cameo by the Lynn police, mention of the Dedham Mall (located in Dedham just south of Boston), and state slang like "Staties", a local nickname for Massachusetts State Police troopers. Also, Deerfield Academy, a boarding school in Deerfield, MA, is referenced when Dignam points out that Costigan was expelled from the school after assaulting the gym teacher.
The character Frank Costello was largely based on James "Whitey" Bulger, a real life Irish-American mobster in Boston. Matt Damon's character is based on John Connolly, the FBI agent who tipped off Bulger for years, allowing him to evade arrest. In real life, Bulger went into hiding and is still presumed to be at large; Connolly is currently imprisoned for his role in Bulger's criminal activities. Costigan's undercover role as a former State trooper who joins the Irish mob parallels the story of Richard Marinick, a former State trooper who later joined Whitey Bulger's crime syndicate. Costigan also lives in Somerville, where Bulger's Winter Hill Gang began.
The movie is an amalgam of the film Infernal Affairs and the Irish gangs of Boston. However the film, as outrageous as it seems, just doesn't go as deep into the corruption in Boston as it really needs to. See the brothers Bulgar for insight as to how deep things really go.
If your not convinced this is interesting stuff, ask yourself how the brother of the most notorious crime lord in Boston's history winds up as the Massachusetts senate president.
