MovieChat Forums > The Departed (2006) Discussion > Why the hell was Frank so worried (spoil...

Why the hell was Frank so worried (spoilers, even though the movie is 12

posted 8 years ago by jacc1515
3 replies | jump to latest

years old)

Why was Frank so worried about being caught if he is protected by the FBI (who outrank State Police)??

That is just one of the many questions I have about this movie. I am watching it now on AMC after not seeing it for a very long time. It really isn't that great despite the involvement of Scorsese and DiCaprio.

The dialogue is very ambiguous and nonsensical and the editing is very, very confusing and poorly done which is surprising since it was edited by longtime Scorsese cohort (and Academy Award winner) Thelma Schoonmaker.

Scorse deserved Best Director many times (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfelllas and The Aviator) but not for this film.

Mother is the name for God on the lips & hearts of all children -Eric D. Raven

[–] hero-de-celluloid 8 years ago

First FBI do not outrank State Police. It doesn't work that way. If the state wanted to arrest him for murder - the FBI can't just say he's ours and he gets off.

Second - just because he was an FBI informant - does not give him the right to kill people. Just as Bulger (Frank is modeled after him) - he was an FBI informant who went to far and was going to be arrested (and eventually was).

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[–] jacc1515 8 years ago

I understand that if the State Police wanted to arrest someone for murder they can and they FBI can't just get him out of it, but I disagree when you say the FBI doesn't outrank the State Police.

If there was a criminal situation the state police were handling and it escalated out of control are you saying the FBI can't step in and take over?

Because that happens all the time.

Mother is the name for God on the lips & hearts of all children -Eric D. Raven

[–] hero-de-celluloid 8 years ago

I still wouldn't say the FBI outranks the state.

Straight from the FBI website:

If a crime is committed that is a violation of local, state, and federal laws, does the FBI “take over” the investigation?
No. State and local law enforcement agencies are not subordinate to the FBI, and the FBI does not supervise or take over their investigations. Instead, the investigative resources of the FBI and state and local agencies are often pooled in a common effort to investigate and solve the cases.

Now since "subordinate" means lower in rank (merriam-webster.com)- and the FBI says state and local police are NOT subordinate - I think this clearly states the FBI does not "outrank" the state and/or local police.

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