The Departed Ambition Quotes

Yup, this is pretty much Costello's approach to everything in life. For him, might makes right, and only the strongest get to have whatever they want. That's why he thinks that people who work regular jobs (like Billy's dad) are a bunch of losers.

When he meets a young Colin Sullivan, Costello offers the kid an opportunity to make some extra money by doing some work for him. Colin might not know it, but Frank is becoming his mentor and pulling him into a long life of criminal activity that'll eventually put a bullet into both of them. How's that for a happy end to ambition?

Costello doesn't have much time for the Church, even though he's Irish Catholic. He thinks of the church as an organization designed to make people feel fine with being normal, boring sheep. But he's more of a satanic dude who likes to do his own thing on his own terms.

Captain Queenan is impressed with Colin Sullivan right away. He can recognize that the young man is a smart and hard worker who will rise through the police force without much trouble. Little does he know that Colin has other ambitions that include, you know, helping out the Irish mob.

Sergeant Dignam has a way of getting in people's faces, and he wastes no time in reminding Billy Costigan that his father was a nobody who worked at the Boston airport. Maybe he's just testing Billy, or maybe he's making some bigger point, but it's hard to tell through all of the guy's insults.

Costello never wastes an opportunity to say that Billy's father suffered from a lack of ambition. Billy takes exception to this, but Costello isn't too scared of offending the kid, since he could probably have the kid killed in two seconds if he wanted.

Billy doesn't drop the point after Costello insults his dad for having no ambition. He likes to think that his dad was still a somebody, even though he worked at the airport. Costello doesn't really care enough about the point to argue it, so he just lets it go. He has more important stuff to worry about.

Costello doesn't mind having Billy working in his crew. But he also knows that Billy has done well in school and has come down in the world if he's working for the mob. He even thinks that Billy might be better off if he went back to school and pursued some more normal ambitions. Then he calls Billy an idiot for letting himself settle for a life of crime.

Captain Ellerby is an ambitious dude who wants Colin Sullivan to be ambitious, too. He also says that there are lots of folks out there who don't like people who've always done everything by the book—which is the case with both Ellerby and Sullivan.

Unfortunately, Ellerby says here that being gay is a really good way not to get yourself promoted in the police force. So it looks like ambition only really counts for much if you live the specific kind of life the police expect you to.