INFERNAL AFFAIRS

In the high stakes world of organised crime, it is essential to keep one step ahead of your enemy. Superintendent Wong (Anthony Wong) has a mole inside the Triad led by Sam (Eric Tsang). Chan Wing-Yan (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai) is a trusted member of the gang, and he is so deep undercover that only Wong knows his true identity. On the other side of the law, Sam has his own mole – high-ranking police officer Lau Kin-Ming (Andy Lau). When a drug deal is foiled despite Lau’s sabotage, Sam realises there’s a stooge in his gang. Likewise, Wong realises his own security has been compromised, and trusts Lau to investigate the matter.

Directed by Andrew Lau (whose previous efforts have included Hong Kong’s first wave of CGI movies Stormriders and A Man Called Hero as well as respected Triad thrillers such as To Live and Die In Tsimshatsui) and Alan Mak, Infernal Affairs is the type of Hong Kong movie I normally run a mile to avoid, with its reliance on pop stars in starring or supporting roles. However, apart from Andy Lau, none are really given much screen time. In the case of Sammi Cheng, she tries to be cute as Lau’s girlfriend and fails miserably. Kelly Chen, if you can buy into the idea of her as a psychiatrist, pretties up the screen in her few scenes, but is otherwise a pointless addition to the cast. The same goes for Elva Hsiao, who has a line or two as Yan’s ex-girlfriend. Edison Chen, appropriately enough, plays a young Lau in the prologue to the film (and goes on to play him for real in the prequel Infernal Affairs II. It should be noted for those unfamiliar with Hong Kong movies that director ANDREW Lau Wai-Keung is a different person from singer/actor ANDY Lau Dak-Wah.

But the one truly bizarre casting choice would appear to be Eric Tsang as gang boss Sam. Anyone with even a passing knowledge of Hong Kong movies from the 80’s will be familiar with him as the short, fat Lou Costello type of character that he invariably played in countless comedies. In those films, he was always the zany, slapstick comic character with a mental age of about 10. More recently, he has become a TV superstar and gameshow host. Away from the cameras, though, he is said to be a shrewd businessman and a much more serious man than his on-screen persona would indicate. Even so, his casting as a Triad gang lord is odd. To give a UK parallel, it would be like giving Noel Edmonds the role of Don Corleone…and doing a decent job of it! In fairness, Tsang didn’t become a serious actor overnight (he’d been getting more weighty roles even in 1990 with the buddy cop comedy Curry and Pepper), but it is still a shock to the system to see him in this kind of role.

Thankfully, Anthony Wong and Tony Leung Chiu-Wai (Wong Kar-Wai’s actor of choice, which is quite some recommendation) are pretty automatic when it comes to giving a good performance, and neither disappoints here.

Infernal Affairs picked up accolade after accolade and has become one of those films that have become “cool” with an international audience. While I think it is a good film, I would stop short of calling it great. There is a blurring of the lines between good and evil here, but it is not as pronounced as, say, Ringo Lam’s superb City on Fire, and that is what seems like such a wasted opportunity. Yes, Lau’s character wants to be good (a point driven home rather heavy-handedly by Sammi Cheng when she declares that she can’t finish her novel because she can’t tell whether the main character is good or bad) but this is never explored extensively. As for Yan, I have to admit that I’m not really sure what he thinks. He is obviously annoyed with Wong for the length of time he has had to spend undercover (it would seem he’s been a mole for approximately ten years – three of which have been spent in the company of Sam), but we never see any real gang activity from him or his reaction to what goes on in a Triad gang.

However, the film does have great moments of tension and, while predictable to a certain degree, packs a few alarming punches with twists you don’t see coming. The drug deal, with its use of Morse code messages, is an obvious highlight. The cat and mouse game between Lau and Yan is what the film primarily hinges on, with the role of “cat” and “mouse” changing throughout. Thankfully, Andy Lau gives a strong performance (it has been known to happen!) so the tension is suitably effective.

With cinematography from Australian master Christopher Doyle (the only reason the last couple of Wong Kar-Wai films were worth watching, in my opinion), you know the film is going to look good, but Doyle seems less flashy and in-your-face for this one. Nevertheless, Infernal Affairs is an intelligent and mostly well-written thriller. It could have been even better, though, I feel.

Thanks for visiting us at Obsessed With Film, we update several times a day, so if you haven't done so yet you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. You can also sign up to receive updates via e-mail.