Travels with Grumpus

The Departed was tops at the US box office last weekend, bringing in US$ 27m. Grumpus and I thought a HK premiere with Tony Leung and Andy Lau would have been a great gesture and guaranteed boffo Hong Kong box office (this thought came from the same place in my brain that dreams up the perfect cast for superhero movies and rewrites movie and novel endings) but of course noone asked us. No matter, we went to see it with very high expectations and came out liking it very much indeed.

Grumpus thinks that this was the movie Michael Mann wanted to make when he set out to film Miami Vice. A cop goes undercover into the mob, a mob guy infiltrates the police department, and when each one finds out about the other it turns into a deadly cat and mouse game. Infernal Affairs in fact looks a lot like a Michael Mann film - all gritty, dark and moody.

The Departed is entirely its own movie and feels and looks nothing like Infernal Affairs. It’s violent, it’s funny, it’s terrifying and it’s heartbreaking. And it’s set in Boston.

Since comparisons to the Hong Kong movie are inevitable, there’s a handy guide with pictures after the jump. Spoilers follow so stop reading if you’re planning to see the movie.

The Title
The Chinese title of “Infernal Affairs” refers to the deepest level of hell in Buddhism, the Hell of No Interval or Unlimited Suffering (yes, I am handy with a search engine); the English title is of course a play on Dante’s Inferno and the police department of Internal Affairs. The “Departed” refers to the dead, those who have gone ahead, in Catholic doctrine.

The Bad Guy
Andy Lau plays a mole for the Triad who has infiltrated the HK police department. He’s so good at his police job that he keeps getting promoted, and so good at his mole job that his gangster boss is always a step ahead of the cops.

Matt Damon plays a mole for the Irish Mafia who has infiltrated the Massachusetts State Police. He’s so good at his police job that he keeps getting promoted, and so good at his mole job that he keeps his gangster boss always a step ahead of the cops.

What’s different?

The Andy Lau dirty cop has a crisis of conscience and shoots his mob boss in a dramatic confrontation in a parking building. The only people who know of his double identity are killed (one by the other, and the second by him) and he gets away with it. Cuts a sleek figure in his black suits.

The Matt Damon dirty cop never has such existentialist qualms and only shoots his mob boss, in a dramatic confrontation outside a warehouse, because he thought the mob boss would turn him in. Turns out to be a total sociopath; the same two people who who know his double identity are killed. A third one ends up putting a bullet through his brain. Looks like a cop movie cop in his brown suit.

The Good Guy
Tony Leung plays a HK police officer who, because he’s so smart, has been handpicked to go deep deep undercover into the Triad. He’s great at the Triad job and after some years enters the closest circle of the boss. Sniffs coke as part of his act and later gets addicted to it. Despises and is terrified of his life in the mob and, after 9 years undercover, has gotten lank haired and sallow and begins to crack slowly under the pressure. Gets a bullet through the head and bagpipes at his funeral. His psychiatrist cries.

Leo diCaprio plays a Boston police officer who, because he’s so smart and also spent half his childhood in the projects of South Boston and so has the right accent, has been handpicked to go deep deep undercover into the Irish mob. He’s great at the job and although the mob boss never fully trusts him, he takes him under his wing. Tranquilizes himself with prescription narcotics to deal with the emptiness and stress and, after many months undercover, has become frantic and paranoid and begins to crack slowly under the pressure. Gets a bullet through the head and a 21-gun salute at his funeral. His psychiatrist cries.

What’s different?

Tony Leung’s character can only sleep in the psychiatrist’s office.

Leo diCaprio’s character sleeps with the psychiatrist.

The Confrontation

The good guy confronts the bad guy on a building rooftop in the movie’s climax.

What’s different?

IA:

Andy Lau keeps his hands in his pockets while Tony Leung holds a gun to his head. The two men, in close-fitting, sleek all-black outfits, stare each other down while cutting a stylish tableaux against mountains and the clear blue Hong Kong sky.

TD:

Matt Damon holds up his hands while Leo diCaprio takes a swing at him. The two men, in baggy blue jackets, hurl obscenities at each other against the warehouse roofs and skylights of South Boston.