4. Billy Costigan Forgets To Put His Phone On Silent The Departed
When you know you've got an important meeting, one of the first things you do aside from turning the bullsh*t factor up to 11 is turn your phone to silent. I know certain people say leaving it on vibrate is acceptable, but I don't belong in that camp. Maybe it's my stuffy British upbringing father wouldn't allow the butler to serve my supper if I displayed bad manners at any point but vibration still makes a sound, and can prove just as distracting. So spare a thought for The Departed's Billy Costigan, who appears to have no knowledge of these rules of etiquette. The man's gone through hell and back to make himself appear legitimate to Frank Costello and his crew, and he knows his remit is to discover the rat in the police force. So when he finally manages to get a tail on Colin Sullivan, you know that he can ill-afford any slip-ups in the pursuit. After all, when stealth is the name of the game, you can't make a sound. Yet if you do have to stay in contact with your police superiors mid-chase through phones, you would've thought it obvious to keep that phone on silent, as to not scare off the mark. But no, despite his training, Costigan leaves it on the loudest profile known to man and god and tips off Sullivan, who stabs a chubby Chinaman before making good on his exit. If only he'd known how to comport himself I'm pretty sure high-stakes stalking operates by the same rules as meetings Sullivan could've been behind bars, there'd be a lead on Costello and the film could've been over in double-quick time.