The dossier
The untouchable king of Southie
Frank Costello plays God with the lives of everyone around him. He is entirely self-serving, manipulating the police, his own crew, and his deeply loyal protégé, Colin Sullivan, to ensure his own survival and dominance.
Jack Nicholson delivers a wildly unpredictable, towering performance. He infuses Costello with a terrifying sense of theatricality, turning quiet conversations in diners into nerve-shredding interrogations.
Costello’s absolute corruption taints every character in The Departed. He is the rotting core of the film’s moral universe, proving that absolute power relies entirely on absolute betrayal.