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The Departed
Director: Martin Scorcese
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Vera Farmiga, Anthony Anderson, Alec
Baldwin
Editor: Thelma Schoonmaker
Writer: Screenplay by William Monahan; Based upon the film, Infernal Affairs written by Siu Fai Mak, Felix Chong
Finally Martin Scorcese gets his talented mitts on his long overdue golden boy at the Academy. I simply must acclaim it as
a near perfect piece of contemporary filmmaking.
Infernal Affairs, a Hong Kong cops-and-thieves melodrama from a few years ago, gets the American remake treatment here.
The original movie was solid, a showcase for its two stars Andy Lau and Tony Leung, but perhaps more notorious for its plot
concept: both the police and the criminal organisation have a mole in the other's midst, and each one's job, endangered by
the presence of the other, eventually involves rooting the other one out. Infernal Affairs, competently made as it was, could
have used a stronger injection of cinematic attiude (it would've been right up the alley of early John Woo). Without it, the
movie was mostly notable for its plot and a strong performance by Leung in particular.
Scorsese's involvement results in an exemplary remake, infinitely superior to the original - it really is quite exceptional.
Leonardo DiCaprio is the Leung character, the cop who goes undercover; Matt Damon is in for Lau as the criminal posing as
a police officer; and Jack Nicholson gets to live it up as the crime boss. Meanwhile, the supporting cast includes a hilariously
belligerent Mark Wahlberg, a superbly dignified Martin Sheen, a scenery-chewing turn from Alec Baldwin, and a splendid Vera
Farmiga. Virtually every other scene is more vivid, more memorable, certainly more quotable. The testosterone-heavy cast (which
also includes the formidably fantastic Ray Winstone) clearly relishes every syllable of William Monahan's ornately profane
dialogue, and Scorsese, despite the relocation to South Boston, is back on his old stomping ground - more confident and relaxed,
in his hopped-up way, than he has been in years.
The Departed is undeniably Scorsese - it's a muscular perpetual-motion machine with angry performances, dirty violence,
and a rock soundtrack always setting the right mood for the scene. Scorsese has also shifted the ethnic context specifically
to the Irish, with Irish cops vs. the Irish mafia in Boston. There's a concern here about the cultural self-destruction that
comes with belligerent ethnic pride; it's a particularly Irish brand of cops-and-thieves angst, interesting because it's considerably
colder than the Hong Kong variety.
The main difference is shown through the fake cop character. In Infernal Affairs, much of the themes involved how being
a mole in the other's membership caused lines to blur, so much so to the point that Lau's character begins to have a change
of heart. There is empathy for the other's situation. But in The Departed, the lines remain distinct, and Damon's character
continues to be cocky with his comparatively cushy situation as an upwardly mobile high-ranking officer. If his true loyalty
is ever tempted to waver, it'll be for more selfish reasons than development of an understanding for a policeman's duty.
Meanwhile, being amongst the crooks never degrades DiCaprio's character's sense of justice, which is made more interesting
since he comes from a family of criminals. Yet, his drive becomes one of survival more than anything else. Of all the strong
performances in this movie, DiCaprio actually leaves the greatest impression - while Damon and Nicholson get to play relatively
relaxed people, DiCaprio's on the edge of bursting the entire time, looking more and more like someone who's about to fall
apart. His situation creates the most tension, and that tension is not only held throughout the film but built up slowly to
a level of intense discomfort.
This may be tempered slightly if you've seen Infernal Affairs - the stories, though very different in tone, are remarkably
similar in plot points (only the very last scene sharply diverges). But familiarity with the plot doesn't drastically change
the experience of watching The Departed, an unrelenting look at the dangerously competitive nature of Irish-American tough
guys who ultimately get what they want and where they want to be by putting on a show of manly pride and force to a fault.
Vulnerability has no place here, where any mis-step could lead to fatal punishment, yet vulnerability pushes through, just
waiting to reveal human beings under the facades. This tremendous film is a pressure cooker, a mean and stylish show about
the tragedies that result from such never-ending contests of one-upmanship.
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