Analysis: "The Departed" versus "Reservoir Dogs"

The Departed, Martin Scorcese's 2006 Irish Mafia opus, is the story of two moles planted in the Massachusetts State Police, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), and Frank Costello's (Jack Nicholson) crime ring, informant Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio). As they existence of the moles becomes clear, each man must discover each other's identity before their own cover is blown. Also featuring Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin, and Martin Sheen, the movie won the Academy Award for Best Picture and best director for Scorcese, along with the award for Best Adapted Screenplay (it was adapted from the Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs, which was also acclaimed) and Wahlberg was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Reservoir Dogs, on the other hand, tells the story of eight gangsters, Mr. White (Harvey Keitel), Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen), Mr. Blue (Eddie Bunker), Mr. Brown (Quentin Tarantino in one of his famous creator cameos), Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi), and mob boss Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney) and his son "Nice Guy" Eddie (Chris Penn). The eight of them have planned a jewelry store heist, headed by Eddie. When the heist goes haywire, when the police show up, killing Mr. Brown and Mr. Blue and injuring Mr. Orange, Mr. Pink suggests that there is a rat in the group. It's up to the survivors to figure out who the rat is before the police show up.  The film marks Tarantino's directorial debut, and marks the first appearance of some of his trademarks: profanity, violence, pop culture references, and a nonlinear narrative. It was actually renowned for its brutality; there is a scene in which Mr. Blonde, an ax-crazy psychopath, disfigures a captured police officer and cuts his ear off with a strait razor, all set to the least-appropriate music for such a scene. It was a classic of 1990s independent cinema and achieved higher popularity after the success of Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. Each film is a classic in their own rights; each was highly acclaimed, though The Departed received more awards while Reservoir Dogs received none. However, the similarities go beyond the superficial. Each has a theme having to do with a police officer, or criminal, in the case of The Departed, going undercover and the effect it has on them. The Departed takes a much more thriller-type stance, as both Sullivan and Costigan try to discover each other's identities. The movie has a theme of identity and association, and what it does to the individual. In the case of police mole Sullivan, it works out nicely. He gets a nice apartment in Boston, is a respected "cop," and begins dating a psychologist, despite being a wicked criminal. He reveals his true colors as such when he shoots down Costello after discovering he was an FBI informant, and receives commendation, and when he withholds details about his true career from his girlfriend. Costigan, on the other hand, draws the short straw as an undercover cop. He is forced to live in a filthy South Boston neighborhood, cut off all familial contact, and lives in constant fear of being discovered by Costello's crime ring and being brutally reprimanded. It is at this point where he realizes he is in too deep and begs his superiors, Cpt. Queenan (Sheen) and Sgt. Dignam (Wahlberg) to be let out. It is in this vein I would compare him to the rat of Reservoir Dogs, Mr. Orange. Both are police officers, highly trained and prepared for their no doubt dangerous missions. As both films progress, the begin to realize the desperation of their situations and realize where they went wrong. Reservoir Dogs differs in the details, however. Since Orange was only inserted for this one job, he was in a different situation than Costigan. He also was accidentally shot in the chest, one of many accidents in the film's plot, such as the actual police ambush. He formed a bond with Mr. White that stuck throughout the entire film, even to the point where White killed lifelong friend Cabot and Eddie in a Mexican Standoff (not the last Mexican Standoff Tim Roth would appear in). Orange clearly feels retribution for causing Mr. White to turn on his friends for his own sake, acknowledging the fact that he is a rat. This is the theme in a modern-day heist caper gone wrong that is, to an extent, the cautionary tale of a rat who got too deep into his own cover.