10 Insanely Weird Secrets Hidden In Movie Scenes
7. The Letter "X" Constantly Foreshadows Death - The Departed
![The Departed](https://cdn3.whatculture.com/images/2019/05/fed5f18688ff98db-600x338.jpg)
Like Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese is another master filmmaker who does nothing by accident, and he took his penchant for meticulous composition to an absurdly bizarre degree in his mob classic The Departed.
A recurring visual motif throughout the film is the presence of the letter "X" in the environment, and given that the letter historically denotes death, it's no coincidence that X typically appears behind characters who end up dead by the end of the movie.
More than a dozen Xs are visible throughout the film, generally cross-hatched structures, window frames, reflections, shadows and so on.
And though millions have watched The Departed without ever noticing, there's just no way a director of Scorsese's brio would've pulled this off by accident.
It's brilliant and, honestly, probably a little bit insane.