(Credit: Warner Bros.)

Remember Sunday movie night rituals? Well, the popcorn may have gone stale, but not the tradition. This weekend, we hope you take a break from light-hearted viewing and bring back the good old days with The Departed, currently streaming on Netflix. The story moves fast, the stakes are always on the rise, and the tension is sky-high.

Netflix recently added The Departed to its US library. And if you were pondering when to hit the play button, Sunday night feels like the perfect time. Although Sundays usually call for binge sessions that don’t require too much commitment, this exception would be worth it. Coming from the legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese, the 2006 crime thriller is an English-language remake of Internal Affairs.

The Departed is also loosely based on the Boston Winter Hill Gang. The film takes place in the gritty underbelly of South Boston, where an undercover cop, Billy Costigan, navigates a deadly web of loyalty and deception to infiltrate the empire of gang lord Frank Costello. As Billy slowly fits in, gaining their trust, a seasoned felon, Colin Sullivan, infiltrates the police department, feeding sensitive information to the syndicate.

As both organisations close in on the traitors in their midst, Billy and Colin enter a cat-and-mouse chase, each trying to uncover the other’s true identity before time runs out. The Departed comes from an Oscar pedigree, having won the ‘Best Picture’ and the ‘Best Director’ for Scorsese, among others. While it’s not inherently light, once you hit play, you just cannot recoil.

For people who enjoy heavy viewing before a fresh week, The Departed might feel like a release. From Leonardo DiCaprio’s raw intensity and Matt Damon’s smarmy villain to Jack Nicholson’s magnetism as the mob leader and Mark Wahlberg’s sharp dialogue, the film is a true showcase of Hollywood’s star power.

The film is packed with subtexts, gritty humour, and it’s punchy, making the perfect “popcorn thriller” pick for your Sunday. And this is one of those thrillers that doesn’t just send you on an edge; it constantly implores viewers to guess because in here, no character is safe, and nothing seems what it truly is. With cops pretending to be perpetrators and criminals playing police officers, identity, loyalty, and morality – everything walks a tightrope.

And in case you’ve watched The Departed already, it gets even better on repeat viewing. The climax is one of the most nail-biting sequences. It leaves you shocked, gasping, and reeling long after. So, if you’re on the lookout for something cathartic, deep, and equally psychologically thrilling, The Departed should definitely be on your watchlist this weekend.