DVD Review - Infernal Affairs
I have wanted to see Infernal Affairs for quite some time. But having seen Martin Scorsese's The Departed made me want to see it even more (for those of you who don't know The Departed is based on Infernal Affairs).
Infernal Affairs takes place in Hong Kong and is the story of a police officer who infiltrates a crime syndicate. In addition, there is a mole working at the police department and neither of the men knows who the other one is. The Departed follows the same plotline but it takes place in Boston and the gangsters are Irish. So many people have seen The Departed that there doesn't seem to be a reason to say more about the plot.
Scorsese's film is about forty five minutes longer than the other film. While I was not at all bored during The Departed I felt that Infernal Affairs was a much sharper film. Directors Andrew Lau and Alan Mak have a keen eye for detail and know how to keep the fat trimmed. The screenplay, which was written by Mak and Felix Chong, is intelligent. I have to give high marks to William Monohan's crackling dialog but the way the story unfolds in Infernal is just a good.
Leonardo DiCaprio gives his best performance in a long time in Scorsese's film. But he still does not compare to Tony Leung as the undercover cop Yan. While all of DiCaprio's turmoil is shown from the outside Leung's torture is in the inner realm of the soul. And although Matt Damon gave a pretty good performance as the police mole Andy Lau's Lau is many times better at conveying the conflict that this man feels. Oh, and we should not forget the crime boss himself.
Jack Nicholson plays Frank Costello in The Departed and while it is always fun to watch him he sometimes gets carried away with his "Jackness." Eric Tsang as Boss Sam is much more subtle in his depiction of evil.
Infernal Affairs is beautifully shot and that is not surprising because the marvelous Christopher Doyle aids director Lau in this task. And the tempo of the music is perfect in how it depicts the mood of the film. I must say that I was very pleased that this film did not contain the plot thread of the unbelievable (and unnecessary) love triangle that is included in The Departed.
I am happy that many people are going to see The Departed. It is a good film. But I urge you to also see Infernal Affairs (if you don't like subtitles you must get over it because you are missing out on too many great films). Because in the end, The Departed is a good film but Infernal Affairs is even better.
Infernal Affairs takes place in Hong Kong and is the story of a police officer who infiltrates a crime syndicate. In addition, there is a mole working at the police department and neither of the men knows who the other one is. The Departed follows the same plotline but it takes place in Boston and the gangsters are Irish. So many people have seen The Departed that there doesn't seem to be a reason to say more about the plot.
Scorsese's film is about forty five minutes longer than the other film. While I was not at all bored during The Departed I felt that Infernal Affairs was a much sharper film. Directors Andrew Lau and Alan Mak have a keen eye for detail and know how to keep the fat trimmed. The screenplay, which was written by Mak and Felix Chong, is intelligent. I have to give high marks to William Monohan's crackling dialog but the way the story unfolds in Infernal is just a good.
Leonardo DiCaprio gives his best performance in a long time in Scorsese's film. But he still does not compare to Tony Leung as the undercover cop Yan. While all of DiCaprio's turmoil is shown from the outside Leung's torture is in the inner realm of the soul. And although Matt Damon gave a pretty good performance as the police mole Andy Lau's Lau is many times better at conveying the conflict that this man feels. Oh, and we should not forget the crime boss himself.
Jack Nicholson plays Frank Costello in The Departed and while it is always fun to watch him he sometimes gets carried away with his "Jackness." Eric Tsang as Boss Sam is much more subtle in his depiction of evil.
Infernal Affairs is beautifully shot and that is not surprising because the marvelous Christopher Doyle aids director Lau in this task. And the tempo of the music is perfect in how it depicts the mood of the film. I must say that I was very pleased that this film did not contain the plot thread of the unbelievable (and unnecessary) love triangle that is included in The Departed.
I am happy that many people are going to see The Departed. It is a good film. But I urge you to also see Infernal Affairs (if you don't like subtitles you must get over it because you are missing out on too many great films). Because in the end, The Departed is a good film but Infernal Affairs is even better.
posted by Film Fanatic | 2:56 PM
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