The Departed: The Movie That Finally Broke Scorsese

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DiCaprio kills it. Nicholson looks like the Dollar Store version of Beetlejuice. Baldwin's accent sounds like you just went into debt from your $0.10, 10-for-1 Columbia House CD deal. Wahlberg is sexy AF. And Damon? He disappoints one of us.

In this episode, we talk "The Departed"

By the Numbers

• Release Year: 2006
• Budget: $90 million
• Box Office: $291.5 million worldwide
• Rotten Tomatoes: 91% (critics), 94% (audience)
• Directed by: Martin Scorsese
• Academy Awards: 4 Wins (Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Film Editing)
• Oscar Nominations: 5 total (Mark Wahlberg nominated for Best Supporting Actor)

Main Cast

• Leonardo DiCaprio – Billy Costigan
• Matt Damon – Colin Sullivan
• Jack Nicholson – Frank Costello
• Mark Wahlberg – Sgt. Dignam
• Martin Sheen – Capt. Queenan
• Vera Farmiga – Madolyn Madden
• Alec Baldwin – Capt. Ellerby

Fun Facts

• Nicholson showed up with a dildo in his coat during the “she’s on her period” scene—Scorsese didn’t know he’d do that
• Wahlberg refused to do press for the film unless he got a writing credit for his own lines (he didn’t, but most of his stuff was improvised)
• DiCaprio was so stressed filming this that he started getting panic attacks off set
• Nicholson originally wanted his character to wear a red dildo—Scorsese had to cut him off
• There’s a hidden X in the background before every major death—Scorsese copied it from Scarface
• The script was so violent that Warner Bros tried to pull Nicholson out—he stayed for creative freedom
• Vera Farmiga met with a real LAPD shrink who worked with officers on both sides of the law

Movie Mistakes

• Queenan’s body falls at two totally different angles depending on which shot you watch
• The rooftop gunshot echo doesn’t match what a suppressed weapon would sound like
• Damon pulls out his phone in scenes set before smartphones had those interfaces
• You can see a cameraman’s arm reflected in the elevator metal during the final sequence
• In one scene, Costello’s cigar length changes in four different cuts like it’s teleporting

Key Takeaways

• DiCaprio never got nominated for this movie - BS.
• Wahlberg wasn’t even in the movie that long but stole every scene
• Damon’s character is so hateable, it somehow taints Matt Damon as a person
• Nicholson goes off-script constantly
• The elevator scene is still one of the most shocking in any crime film
• This is the only Best Picture winner where the Academy literally apologized to the director with a trophy