As someone who rates The King of Comedy especially but also New York, New York and The Age of Innocence very high in the Scorsese canon, I’m probably not as keen as others here on the gangster/streetwise side of his work. Still, after the utter mess of Gangs of New York and the surprising dullness of The Aviator there’s something really thrilling about the familiarity of The Departed’s elements: the voice-over, flashback to childhood, dolly-in from the street outside, Rolling Stones on the soundtrack — this is so pleasurable. This is a good film, maybe not a great one, but decidedly superior to the Hong Kong original. Infernal Affairs has a smart premise and races along on its roller-coaster ride with clockwork efficiency, but there’s nothing more to it than that. (In this respect, I find David Bordwell’s criticism of Scorsese’s filmaking in favour of the two Hong Kong guys simply bizarre.) Scorsese’s film is a different creature entirely, slower, more interested in giving time and space to a character at a given moment. Consequently, the rather mechanical parallels between the undercover cop/crim and between the two father figures are much more diluted in The Departed, but that’s no loss. Great performances (including DiCaprio!), and Nicholson for once is kept mostly under control. But why, oh why that final shot? It’s breathtakingly stupid.
by Ian Johnston | Source: 35mm print
05 Nov 2006 12:21 PM | Submit Comment