Matinee Monday: The Departed (2006)

For this month’s installment of Matinee Monday, we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of Martin Scorsese’s gangster crime thriller The Departed (2006). With an all-star cast, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, and Matt Damon, alongside his loyal creative team, Scorsese created a suspenseful, exhilarating, and meticulously crafted story, which led him to win Best Picture and Best Director at the Academy Awards for the first time. Based on the Hong Kong film Internal Affairs (2002), The Departed transports the story to Boston, where Scorsese explores how both legitimate and illegitimate forces of power are built on lies, egos, and obsession. With almost every character hiding their true identity, Scorsese creates a maze of self-deception and confusion that leads only to violence. On top of being a commercial and critical success, the film had an immense cultural impact, as the United States struggled with mistrust and corruption in the government after 9/11.

CAPTAIN CHARLIE QUEENAN

We deal with deception here. What we don’t deal with is self-deception.

Read more about the film below:

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