The Departed (or, Fuck you Scorsese, you gay homo-queer fuck!)
Many things conspired to get me to pay the $15 ($15!!!) to see Scorsese's latest: it is based on one of my favourite films, Infernal Affairs; it is directed by Scorsese (yes I was, until today, caught up in the mystique of his cinematic greatness); it has been mentioned on Towelroad for its gratuitously homophobic language (yes, I'm a controversy chaser); and it was recommended by Rick, who is generally a good judge of films I'd like.Hmmm.
I don't know how he managed it but Scorsese has managed to take a taut, gripping thriller and turned it into, well, a Scorsese film, populated by half arsed OTT characterisation and unnecessary violence. The problem here is that we've seen it all before, on two counts. Firstly, anyone who is remotely interested in cinema has seen Goodfellas and I would suspect many have seen Infernal Affairs and this film is pretty much a mash up of the two. Unfortunately, in the mix it was the good, not the bad, that was flushed. The Departed is slow, undramatic and talky where the original cracked along so dramatically that cinemas could have packed in extra seats for the screening because audiences only needed to use the edges. Scorsese's version meanders. It mills about wasting time and squandering tension on masculine posturing.
I'm not saying the original was perfect, but for all it's cartoonishness the characters were endearing, alive and, in many cases, more believable. Andy Lau and Alan Mak succeeded in drawing those characters in a film that was was squarely driven by plot and this is where The Departed falters most (un)dramatically. The tightness of the original's set pieces was slackened and spread so thinly that the central conflict of the plot, that the opposing sides had infiltrated each other's forces, was essentially neutered. Half the film was spent on watching the characters ponder if that was even the case.
Oh, well. Another remake another waste of money. When will Americans learn to read in films? I know I have learnt my lesson now. Stay away from Scorsese.
Tags: movie review, film, remake
posted by walypala @ 4:15 pm
7 Comments:
It really had no right to be 2 hours and a half. None at all. But I mostly liked it. I thought it was about even with Infernal Affairs actually.
I want those two and a half hours of my life back! A pointless, plodding pedestrian remake, populated by two-dimensional characters, lacking anything close to dramatic tension, and whose only outstanding features are gratuitous violence and rampant homophobia. Next time, Mike, I chose the film!
I know, I know, I'm sorry.
I am wracking my brain for some bad film you've dragged me to but I am not coming up with anything. Oh, I know, there was that appalling show at the Malthouse with that retired footballer.
Still, one has to sift through the shit.
: )
And Glenn, wash your mouth out. On par with Infernal Affairs, next you'll be telling me you actually like Showgirls ; )
That was bad theatre, not a bad film. How about 'The Book of Revelation' instead? Or 'Macbeth'? Or were they so bad you've expunged them from your memory? ;-)
Okay, that was bad but I did want to see it so I don't suppose we can count that. Or Macbeth.
Keep on a-thinking though.
x
I actually like Showgirls!!!
lol
But, I think Infernal had it's positives and negatives and so did The Departed. While the fact that these characters were spewing out homophobic comments left and right didn't exactly thrill me to hear, the thing that bugged me the most was that it was mostly Matt Damon. I did not buy Damon as a sexually vile cretenous character at all.
Ah Glenn, it'd be hard to miss your love of Showgirls!
As for the film, I think Damon's portrayal was probably more believable. It sort of edges towards the second and third IA films where it is clear that the bad cop wants a clean slate. Unfortunately, like you say, it didn't work in this film because it fucked with the dynamic too much and castrated the action.
I didn't think they were pushing for the sexually vile characterisation. I felt, if anything they were alluding to a possible repressed homo-gay-sexuality in his character. Then we homo-gays will see that anywhere.
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