It is very good so far... I just adore the acoustic guitar writing. Beautiful at times, very cool and hip at others.

I found the story extremely interesting. The acting ensemble, for me,
was amazing. All the actors were excellent. Nicholson will probably
win another Oscar, but my pick would be DiCaprio. His intensity was
organic and realistic. Damon was also excellent. Scorsese knows
how to draw great performances from his actors.

I thought the dialogue was just brilliant, when, and only when, some
actual concrete and abstract words could actually be sandwiched
inbetween the TRILLION F*** Y**s. Sometimes words lose their
impact through overuse. At times, FY seemed to be the only words
characters could utter. Still, there were times of great dialogue.

The one character that didn't ring true was Madolyn. She seemed
so wishy washy and vague considering her profession. (I think she
flunked her psych and female-assertive classes.)

As brilliant as I found the movie, at times it left me cold. I don't know
what it is about Scorcese movies, but most of the time, I don't
feel a strong emotional connection to his characters. I did feel
the tension in the movie thanks to the plot, cell phones, and
I did care about DiCaprio.

I guess I'd have to see it again to notice Shore's music. I only remember
one tense musical cue and nothing else but source music.

quote:

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Originally posted by joan hue:

The ending didn't quite ring true for me and left me with
questions that were not resolved.

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I think that's what's interesting about this particular movie; and a friend and I had this discussion later in the evening in regards to this very comment. I thought the end played itself out wonderfully; sure it may have shocked the audience (and some uber-critics may even claim it "betrayed" the audience, they're only partially right) and left many on the edge of their seat (i literally was at the edge, and cursing the events set into motion) but, ultimately, the audience found themselves back at some sort of general conclusion with the finale. I think the unanswered question you might bring up is best left unsolved. Nothing more is gathered for the plot and it would seem without merit if a solid conclusion was made. It was a character moment, meant to draw more emotion from the audience and what they feel for Billy, Madolyn, and Colin. Each audience member will react in a different way. My friend shared the comment you had, and he still does. It really irks him that one conclusion doesn't come to surface; but for me, I prefer it the way it is. it's visual, emotional, and psychological filmmaking that can't be accomplished through dialogue. In my eyes, that's the best trait of a script and how the director and editor interpret it; it's the beauty of filmmaking.

Nutscore, it wasn't who lived or died that bothered me; it was several loose ends that were never tied up.

Spoilers again...you've been warned.

Wahlberg is removed and sent???? I thought maybe he would get together with Alex Baldwin to continue to look for the mole, but we don't know where he went. Billy gives Madolyn an envelope that contained????We assume it was the true story revealing Colin as the mole, but the audience is never privvy to what is in that envelope, and we should have been. Nor are we ever told what Madolyn did with that information. If she read it and revealed it contents, we're never shown that. If she did take it to the police, why didn't they show up? Or was she protecting the father of her baby? Then out of no where Wahlberg shows up to get Colin....and he found out that Colin was the mole through what? Madolyn? The envelope? And why didn't he go back to the police to tell them about Colin being a mole instead of killing him, making sure there was no evidence left there? These last few untied, loose ends were very sloppy story telling, but it didn't take that much away from an overall well-done movie.

Also, this is based upon the Asian movie Infernal Affair, and I've been told it ends this way: (more spoilers.) Yep, Collin does the dirty deed, but he has slowly been absorbed into becoming an authentic cop, so he gets away with the murders but merges into being a true policeman. He doesn't pay the price Colin did. In a way that seems like almost a better end. Justice doesn't alway win in real life...just my opinion.

[Message edited by joan hue on 10-11-2006]

As to the question of which film is better - the Hong Kong film or the Scorsese one... well it comes down to what you're after. THE DEPARTED feels richer in culture and character development. The latter point is a little moot though, because IA developed its characters extensively in IA2 and IA3. INFERNAL AFFAIRS is definitely the stronger THRILLER. The three pivotal suspense setpieces - the Morse-code bust (really underdone by Scorsese), the carpark scene and the rooftop finale are all much more gripping in the original film - and character beats that are given their own scenes in the Scorsese film are well incorporated into the setpieces of the original. It's clear to me Scorsese hasn't seen the original - or at least hadn't when he made it... the way the two films choose to make their points are extremely different, and I think he would have felt compelled to strengthen the thriller aspect if he had.

quote:

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Originally posted by nuts_score:
Now I understand what you're saying Joan. I automatically assumed that the letter that Billy gave Madolyn revealed Colin's true identity and that letter was passed on to Wahlberg's character.

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I assumed Wahlberg had been tailing Sullivan the moment he was suspended and had been waiting for the right moment to strike. I don't think Madolyn's letter had anything to do with his sudden reappearance.

quote:

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Originally posted by joan hue:
(Spoilers.)I'm curious Franz as to why Wahlberg would tail Sullivan since no one ever knew who the mole really was? Wahlberg didn't know about Sullivan or have reason to suspect him. That is still a dangling piece for me that needs a supportive framework. To me that is the one weak piece in an otherwise strong movie.

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I felt like he was already on the way to suspecting Sullivan of being the mole in the scene following Queenan's death where he's put on probation. He was EXTREMELY suspicious of Sullivan's tailing of Queenan, and needed no extra provocation to keep an eye on the man. Diggam's the cleverest of all the cops - I feel he would have seen the events of the elevator scene from afar and interpreted them correctly despite Sullivan's cover story. Accordingly I wasn't bothered by his sudden reappearance at the end - I figured he had to be somewhere in the background all this time waiting to make a move.

quote:

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Originally posted by joan hue:
You might be right, Franz. I need to see the movie again. I have not seen Infernal Affairs. I've looked to rent it from our DVD stores, but I still haven't found it.

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If you're interested in the backstories of the characters, it might be worth taking a look at IA2 as well. IA3 is less popular - one for the fans. (Ironically it has the best soundtrack of the three.)