There's no better way to see the difference between Hong Kong cinema and Hollywood than to put Infernal Affairs next to its Hollywood remake, The Departed. Remember The Departed? Scorsese, DiCaprio, Damon? It won a boatload of academy awards then was sort of forgotten?
The two movies are nearly identical, with Scorsese doing nearly a shot-by-shot remake of the original. But while Infernal Affairs is a taut and direct thriller about characters caught up in webs of deceit, The Departed is nearly an hour longer, and the biggest webs its characters are caught in are those of overacting. See, Scorsese tried to turn a thriller in to an Epic, and it was so expensive and self-important you just wish they left good enough alone. Infernal Affairs is good enough. It's actually pretty great.
The original has pop superstar Andy Lau has the role that went to Matt Damon in the remake, and Tony Leung in the role that went to Leonardo DiCaprio. One is a triad who has infiltrated the police force, the other is a cop who has infiltrated the triad. Both have been at their jobs for ten years before the main action takes place. Lau is settling in to a series of promotions, has moved in with his girlfriend, and is otherwise sitting pretty on easy street. Leung, however, is increasingly miserable and violent, and has only just broken into the inner circle of boss Hon Sam.
The moles of course become determined to sniff each other out. The cop-in-the-triad is in danger of losing his true identity, the triad-in-the-police is in danger of losing his honor. People get killed, cigarettes are smoked slowly, women frown visibly at the camera. Very little is wasted here. After a whiz-bang opening sequence of fast cuts showing the two agents as youths, things proceed from scene to scene quickly and efficiently, the tension continuously mounting. Even the moments of quiet, where the two agents briefly meet over a shared love of music, or when Leung relaxes at his (pretty) psychiatrist's office, are well-deserved scenes, showing the characters trying to cope with the stresses all around them.
The Departed, in contrast, was a bloated mess, with DiCaprio glowering twice as much as normal and necessary, and Jack Nicholson gobbling up scenery like an coked-up warthog. Nicholson's counterpart in the original is the gangster Hon Sam (Eric Tsang), who is much less theatrical and, because of that, much more frightening. When he snaps you know it.
Of course, Infernal Affairs isn't perfect. The score in particular is laughably bad, and chimes in at just the wrong moments to turn a quiet scene maudlin. There are some plot jumps that are jarring, especially towards the end. The ending also is different from The Departed, and whether this is a good or a bad change is up to you. The ending certainly gives it a different spin, more of a focus on Andy Lau's cop than Tony Leung's gangster. But it's no Hollywood ending, something which Scorsese probably recognized in his rewrite.
There's also the title, a terrible pun that should never have made it past English censors. The original title is better translated as "the non-stop path" or "continuous hell," the lowest level of hell in Buddhism. This is "the place of continuous suffering," as explained in the opening credits, and the title sequence has us linger around the shattered remains of Buddhist icons.
But if taut and efficient are what you're going for, Infernal Affairs is great, perfect, awesome. It clearly shows what Hong Kong cinema is capable of, having single-handedly revived the Hong Kong crime drama when it came out in 2002. And while it's smaller and less histrionic than The Departed, I've always preferred it.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
An alternate ending, which is closer to the American ending. This scene was made, I hear, to appease Chinese publication boards that wanted a more "moral" ending to the film. It makes little sense in context though, and I'm glad they stuck with the more controversial ending.
There's a short and standard making-of featurette, and a "Confidential File" of some behind-the-scenes footage, which is more interesting than the "Making of" stuff.
"Infernal Affairs" is on sale November 15, 2011 and is rated R. Action, Crime, Foreign, Thriller. Directed by Walt Becker, Wai Keung Lau, Alan Mak. Written by Alan Mak, Felix Chong. Starring Andy Lau, Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, Tony Leung Chiu Wai.
