X Marks the Spot
Just like the oranges in the Godfather Trilogy, Martin Scorsese’s 2006 crime thriller The Departed also foreshadows its characters’ inevitable death using an “X”. If you’re counting, Xs appear 18 times in the movie including before the deaths of Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson), Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), Billy Costigan Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio), Oliver Queenan (Martin Sheen), James Barrigan (James Badge Dale), and Tony Brown (Anthony Anderson).
It works on many levels though as most of the movie deals with characters who betray those who trust them. Basically, they’re double-crossers (Get it?). The only character who is never marked and makes it out alive is Sgt. Dignam (Mark Wahlberg).