At some point while sifting through my 500-item Netflix queue, I began to see parallels and similarities among multiple films, motifs and connections and pairings. Some of these films were directly connected in groups of twos or threes, not just by being sequels and prequels but by theme, original story and strong influence. The idea gave birth to the ongoing Double Feature project, in which I watch groups of matched pictures within a short duration. The hope is I will also jot down a few thoughts about the pictures here.
Tarkovsky’s Solaris, released in 1972, and Soderbergh’s Solaris from 2002 was the first pair to trigger the idea for the Double Feature project. I haven’t seen Tarkovsky’s original, which was closely based on Stanisław Lem’s 1961 novel of the same name, but I have watched Soderbergh’s more recent take, and, well, to put it optimistically, I’m willing to give it another chance.
So the Solaris-Solaris pairing is obvious for the project, but Solaris is psychological drama, deep-cuts territory, and I wanted to kick off the project with something a little more…thrilling. So the first double feature became the 2002 Hong Kong-made Infernal Affairs and 2006’s American-made The Departed.

Infernal business. Who's the cop killer now?
The Departed is roughly based on Infernal Affairs, and the two are similar by way of an excellent story, with the former more or less lifting the latter’s narrative threads, much in the same away A Fistful of Dollars found itself via Yojimbo. Both movies are classic crime films, the Hong Kong triads or Boston mafia versus the local police. That would be satisfying enough as many similar pictures have demonstrated, but the interesting bits begin when each faction puts a covert operative in the other’s camp. Both moles are deep into the act and fully gain the trust of their respective employer, but throughout the act each player ultimately is covertly performing for the benefit of their true masters.
A simple narrative, but thoroughly compelling, like all simple-but-well-made narratives. Coming from its simplicity is the result that nearly at all times both sides of the battle have a forecast of the other side’s moves. The cops know where the criminals are congregating. The criminals know the cops are coming. The cops will be outside your door in thirty seconds. The deal goes down next week, location unknown. Information passes from mole to superior, who then disseminates the tips to his respective team as he sees fit. Actions progress very quickly, and each faction is constantly on edge, on the move.
Early in the film, after a drug deal and bust goes poorly for both sides, thanks to the quick and constant transfer of information between the hidden operatives, the two sides have a non-violent but uneasy confrontation. They both know the a leak exists in their own foundation and vow to plug the hole. Whoever solves the mystery wins the war and ruins the opposition, and may the best mole win.
While Infernal Affairs and The Departed share this story, they utilize and develop it very differently. Just take a look at the running times: Infernal Affairs runs at about one and a half hours while The Departed pushes three hours. Same story, different plot.
Infernal Affairs’ strength is its plot itself, or put more accurately, the ability of strong, motivated characters to forward the plot. Unlike The Departed, it is a true thriller, rarely pausing for an aside or a prolonged sequence. The motion and sweep of the criminals and cops are captured clearly and simple to follow, yet the fluctuating machinations of each side shifting to combat the other are always, well, thrilling. The rapid movement is clearly at the will of a cast of great characters, not a script behind the scenes.

Things aren't any better in Boston.
The Departed is more concentrated on delivering a setting, a persona of a very particular part of America. Infernal Affairs has its seedy Hong Kong undergrowth, full of dim alleys and run-down apartments and neon lights, but The Departed’s Boston has apparent depth. As directed by Martin Scorsese, The Departed exists in a very distinct environment, one that permeates every facet of the production, from the theatrical aspects like the soundtrack and shot location to the accent-rich performances, so completely that it surely exists in the real world.
Scorsese doesn’t dive into the nitty-gritty of the political street-by-street or geographical landscapes, but he provides a place where his characters live. In return, those characters give the film vibrancy: this New England vision is elevated by a bevy of punchy performances. Jack Nicholson chews the scenery relentlessly, but after a couple scenes wth him, I wouldn’t want it any other way. Long dialogue scenes are common, and while they don’t always advance the plot, they advance our understanding and history with the characters, a hugely effective gain.
The Departed’s boosted character portraits explain for the most part why the movie runs for about an hour longer than its similarly-storied sibling. Scorsese’s movie is simply more interested in the who, rather than who doing what. Both methods work terrifically for their own purposes: Infernal Affairs would feel too long if it pushed past two hours or more, and The Departed’s performances would seem truncated if its runtime was edited down.
I really liked both of these films. Each production was terrific in its own: Infernal Affairs as an action thriller, and The Departed as a modern period piece. And I did like one of these movies more than the other, but, hey, that doesn’t matter when I could sit down any day of the week and watch them both, one right after the other, and have a really good time.







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