When I was in college, it was popular for English professors to insist that this character or that character in literature -- or even the authors themselves -- were what we used to call "latent homosexuals." So, for example, Hamlet (who definitely had some mommy problems and daddy issues and treated Ophelia like an old dishrag) was maybe gay. And homoerotic undertones were found in novels (and private letters) by nearly everybody, but especially repressed Victorian writers.
So, when I received a comment from a Scanners reader suggesting that Jack Nicholson's character, Frank Costello, in the (Oscar-winning) Martin Scorsese (Best) Picture, "The Departed," might be read as gay, I thought: "Yeah, OK, sure." And then I thought about it a little more and started laughing: "Well, yeah, of course!" Not that it's any great revelation -- especially for a director who's known for displaying rampant homoeroticism (in his "gangster pictures," especially) -- but there it is. (You think the Academy was subconsciously trying to make up for last year's surprise upset of "Brokeback Mountain"?) I mean, look at the guy's wardrobe.
And consider the final (R-rated) scene between Costello and his girlfriend, Gwen, which struck me as having some negative sexual tension:
Sweetheart, you’re giving me a hard- on.
He starts to dial the phone.
GWEN
Are you sure it's me or all that
talk about whiffin’ and crawlin’ up
asses?
COSTELLO
Hey, watch your f---king mouth.
GWEN
You watch it.
She rises and as she crosses:
GWEN (CONT’D)
Let me straighten you out.
Here's part of the comment from Tam (and DVC mentioned it, too):
Costello and Sullivan [Matt Damon's character] are closeted homosexuals. There are so many implications of this in the movie, although subtle... Remember Costello raising some eyebrows at the restaurant with the priests? Yep, he was molested as a kid by a priest and his distaste toward the Catholic Church is evidence of this. Also, the scene right before Costello is shot and killed by Sullivan, if you remember the dialogue, Sullivan made it very clear that he was no "son" to Costello. "All that murderin' and f--kin'......." Just rewind your dvds to that scene.Anybody else notice more evidence in the film that might support such a reading? If so, what do you think it adds to the movie? (Most important: We know Costello sports a dildo in a porno theater with Sullivan, but does he ever wear a blue hat...?)I also researched this movie in depth and it seems that "The Departed" is part based on Irish crime lord, James "Whitey" Bulger's life. Most aspects of Whitey's life mirror the movie... [It] is documented that "Whitey" was [allegedly] bisexual and even had a relationship with FBI agent, H. Paul Rico. Back to the movie, remember when Costello had one of his many mistresses in the room and he threw out some cocaine onto the bed and told her to "get numb," -- well, by the position of their bodies, we can assume the obvious. [Note: Although Bulger has been photographed as recently as last February "dressed up like one of the Village People and ready to play" and "campier than a row of tents" (both descriptions courtesy of the Sunday Mirror he has eluded arrest by the FBI for a dozen years now and remains at large.]
[...]
Well people, you make your own opinions as I've made mine. Love the movie, I don't really care about the subtle hints of homosexuality in the film, I just find it incredibly genius of Mr. Scorsese's sneaking it in there.
I don't think the Costello character is supposed to be homosexual. He is a pan-sexual predator, a perverse pschopath, and he completely disregards any sort of societal (or natural) bias based on gender or age. In the earlier scenes, we get the uneasy feeling that buying comics and giving metaphorical lectures might not be the only favours that Costello is granting Sullivan.
Costello revels in depravity of all sorts throughout the film - not just sexual, but also homicidal. His apparent flamboyance and larger-than-lifeness complements his psychotic behaviour, and doesn't seem to stem from his sexual orientation, or the fact that he might have to hide it. Besides, I don't think it's plausible for someone as powerful as Costello to have to live in the closet all his life.
Postscript: Wasn't there a cut scene involving Costello's being serviced with a dildo by one of his girlfriends? This was also a particular favourite of Ralph Cifaretto's in The Sopranos, no? In fact, come to think of it, Costello feels like an older Ralphie if he ever became boss.
I think the idea might come from the fact that the Departed is just brim-full of testosterone, but this piece made me think twice about Costello's line of "not interested in p*ssy anymore."
Also the coked-up scene as well as the black dildo were all Nicholson's idea, at least according to some piece of trivia I picked up somewhere.
When Costello and Sullivan meet in the porno theater, Sullivan looks largely uncomfortable. Following that scene comes the chase through the alley, where Sullivan wrongly stabs an asian man instead of DiCaprio's character, an instance of him again not using phalic instruments properly, such as when his girlfriend suggests they have some bedroom issues.
I had not noticed it upon my first viewing, but two friends of mine caught a latent homosexual vibe from Matt Damon's character, Sullivan. They pointed to Sullivan's calling the members of the Fire Department rugby players "faggots" (to say nothing of the possible homoerotic connotations of rugby itself), his impotence with Vera Farmiga's character, the awkwardness with which he fields Alec Baldwin's questions about starting a family and how his cock's working, the numerous homophobic jokes thrown at him by the other police characters (including DiCaprio calling him a faggot toward the end of the picture), as well as the general "double life" theme of the picture. I didn't view any of this in a sexual sense when I first saw the movie--I interpreted the "faggot" talk as tough guy cop posturing, and the impotence as an effect of the stress of his double life (much like DiCaprio's dependence of painkillers and anitdepressants). In subsequent viewings and discussions, though, I can accept the sexual explanation of these details as easily as the nonsexual explanation, and that ambiguity has become one of my favorite elements of movie.
Thanks Jim,
I found nothing latently homoerotic about anything in the film. I'd say what Ali has to say above is far more appropriate to Nicholson's character than calling him a latent homosexual, or any other kind of.
But you have us looking for things that don't actually exist, me thinks, as many of the literary teachers and critics of the past have done.
Nicholson is uneasy in the porn theater because of Damon's character might be f-ing things up. Isn't the word "faggot" thrown around Boston like Big Macs are around Burger King? Damon unable to perform has more to do with a heavy conscience...? Anyone...? Or are we having too much fun?
Nicholson, that is, Costello, is fine in the prono theater. Damon's character, Sullivan is the one who looks uneasy (and it appears as though they are watching an all girl movie, too). Directly following this scene is the chase that I mentioned. I just saw the connection of those scenes so close to indicate maybe something was up with Sullivan.
-Brian
This was an observation I hesitated to make aloud; I certainly caught it. There are certainly masculinty issues at hand. The broader aspects of the male homosexual subculture are more "lost", shall we say, in the intolerance of less progressive areas.
I keep thinking of "the 40-Year-Old Virgin", where two men debate who "gayer". Neither.
As someone who has been forcefed a SoCal Multicultural Curriculum since forever, my straight Gaydar made a WOOP-WOOP during The Departed. Or anytime "the word 'faggot' is thrown around Boston like Big Macs at Burger King".
As a victim of "Boston Irish W*gger" violence (it is called PTSD), I shuddered through the whole movie. True. Woop Woop.
Hamlet, not so much.
I've only seen "The Departed" once and can't say anything other than I didn't really pick up on the alleged vibe. But does it really count as "incredibly genius" to slip in hints of a vicious killer being gay? Or would it be more "old hat cliche?"
It seems like a stretch. Tam's filling in more gaps than an assassination theorist on crack. You don't have to have been molested to hate the Church and you don't have to actually have butt-sex to talk about it. And if he did choose an unconventional orafice, what does that prove?
A lot of this kinda reminds me of that Wild Hogs post you had a while ago, about a stereotypical homophobe versus homophobic stereotype. Same goes for going with the typical "I was molested so now I'm gay" reasoning behind this argument because even if the point did apply some relevance to the story, it wouldn't be convincing unless all the subtleties of someone's sexuality could be attributed to a single childhood event.
I dunno'...I just kind of read Costello as a generally degenerate guy.
Not that homosexuality is necessarily degerate or whatever...just that nothing would be out of bounds for this guy, sexually or otherwise.
As for Costello and Damon's character actually being a pair...nah, I don't think so. If Costello did f**k him as the line before he's killed implies, I'm thinking it would be more of a prison-sex, putting somebody in their place sort of situation.
I agree but I don't think it's such a penetrating (heh) insight -- extreme machismo always tends toward / sounds like / can be read as homoeroticism.
I think that what Scorsese was trying to say is that maybe in the world of the film, everybody who is straight in real life is gay in the movie, and on an existential level, the gay people in the movie aren't really all that gay, and that is why it is so subtle. In the world of the film, I would think that if the gay people in the movie, who are really straight in real life, were really gay, then they would be holding hands with guys, kissing guys, and maybe even sleeping with guys. (gross) But you don't see a lot of that in the movie. I think it is a good point about Jack Nicholson's wardrobe in the movie though. I mean pink shirts and leopard print robes? Totally gay, am I right? Also, did anybody notice in the beginning when Jack Nicholson's character shoots the lady in the head. If he liked girls he wouldn't be shooting them in the heads! C'mon! I think Scorsese is a genius for slipping that in there too. I usually don't like to have to think too much during movies, but I guess it was O.K. in this movie because there was lots of cool stuff like fighting and shooting, and gay mobsters.
Anybody see South Park tonight?
Suddenly "The Departed" has made me very confused.
I fully agree that there is an angle here for a homosexual relationship between Costello and Sullivan in the movie. All the items mentioned above;
1. The homophobic comments to the fire fighters at the rugby game
2. The unexplained gift given by Costello to Sullivan after graduation
3. The scene where Sullivan is confronted about not getting it up the night before by his girlfriend
4. The comment Costello makes about someone else sticking their dick in Freuds ass
5. The comment Sullivan makes to Costello before he kills him about not a son and all the "killing and fucking"
In the movie theatre I was more moved by the comment Sullivan makes about "lying" and saying he does that pretty well, taking from that, that he is lying to his girlfriend about his sexuality
Then on the roof when LD's character talks about Costello taping everything and how he trusted him more I think it was Sullivans fear of being outed that scared him the most which also lead to him shooting the other trooper who indicated he was helping Costello and at that point assumed Costello had let the other guy know about their relationship as well.
Then to top it all off when Walberg's character calls him a "faggot" before he shoots him I took that at being more directed than just street talk. Also, I suspect the envelope LD's Character gave the girl had evidence of Sullivan's homosexuality which was then passed to Walberg.
Add to all that the fact that Costello was based in part on Whitey Bulger and that Whitey Bulger was know for being bi-sexual etc, etc.
It's the final scene that makes me agree with the untertones. Rewind the last scene a couple times. It's the way Damon looks relieved when he realized it's Wahlberg and then says, "I'm okay" with a tone you would use to reassure a lover or relative. Were they lovers the whole time? Related? More secrets/rats? Over the top fights at the office. Jokes about "promotion opportunities." If that's the case, then I would suggest the final shooting was either because he didn't know Damon was the rat until the end, or he was dirty too and was covering up their affair.
Thoughts?
I don't know about the Costello character, but Sullivan is definitely a closeted homosexual: note the remark his new landlady makes when he first moves in and how defensively he reacts; the theme of him being poor in bed relative to Costigan; and how nicely it ties in with the movie's overall themes of subsuming identity for ambition and success.
Everyone who thinks this is 'reading something into the film that isn't there' isn't paying attention, or is getting uncomfortable for no good reason.
How about when he pulls out a black dildo at the movie theater. Do you think a mob boss so blantently "homophobic" (as we are lead to believe by his dialogue with his wife) would carry around a dildo?
Would any mob boss carry around a dildo?
That I do not know...
I admit, all of this stuff has got me intrigued a little. There were some odd bits in the movie here and there, but some here are also taking it to an extreme, I think. Maybe there are some questions there. Any of the discussions about Costello's sex life do seem a little weird. I guess my biggest problem with this theory is, why not be more obvious with it? Why hide it so much in the film? Sullivan calling the firefighters "faggots" is hardly conclusive. What guy hasn't heard one guy call another that, without having any real homosexual meaning. Also, despite what movies seem to want to teach us lately, every person who hates gays is not secretly a gay person. As for Sullivan being uncomfortable in the porno theater? Come on, I think I know anyone, straight or gay, who wouldn't be uncomfortable in a place like that. But then again, maybe, just maybe... It is an interesting thought, at the very least.
I have been saying that Matt Damon's Character in the Movie was gay since my first and only time seeing it in the movie theatre. IN fact, it was so obvious to me when I walked out of the Theatre I mentioned it to my buddies and they were shocked. In fact it's funny how almost everyone I bring it up to now violently denies that's the case....not really sure why...I guess it's more a social comentary then anything else. Anyway, all the things mentioned above, especially the part about "being good at keeping secrets etc.", when they met in the nudie joint he also says " never thought I'df see you in one of these places " infering that he wouldn't come to a female porn movie. Di Caprio calls him a faggot, and that wasn't just tough guy talk, that was a direct reference. The trouble in bed with the girl and the tossing and turning. It's so obvious. Every line and movement in a screenplay has a direct purpose for the movie. Any screenwriting class or book will tell you that. There is absolutely no question that Damon's character was designed to be a closeted gay man...not that there's anything wrong with that:) (thanks sienfeld)