The Departed: Why Scorsese Shouldn’t Be Credited For Its Originality
The Departed, the Hollywood remake
Infernal Affairs, the superb original
Simple. Because what makes The Departed great, the plot and characterisation, is derived from its superb original, Infernal Affairs. We should not give Martin Scorsese credit for the refreshing originality of TD, only for his great directing and casting skills. But I can’t criticise the actors in it, as all they do is act out the material given by them anyway.
Why am I saying this right now? Because The Departed is shaping to be a mega-Hollywood hit. Early reviews at Rottentomatoes.com indicates that the critics all love it as well. And a lot of the kudos will inadvertedly be directed to Martin Scorsese, which to me is just plain wrong. The credits for TD’s great plot twists, storylines and complex characters should instead be directed to Infernal Affair’s Andrew Lau and Alan Mak.
The beginings of the critic’s adulations for Scorsese has moved me to write a post for the first time at Rottentomatoes’s forum. In it, I elaborated on why Infernal Affairs should be given the maximum credit for The Departed’s success. You can read it here.
My reply to another thread here is also relevant.
