Dearly Departed
I went and watched The Departed last night. Having been a big fan of Infernal Affairs, I've been looking forward to the remake for a long time. However, remakes, just like cover songs, should always bring something new to the table, and take nothing away. Other than the Hollywood touch, The Departed doesn't bring anything new to the table, and other than the Hollywood touch, it doesn't take anything away from it either. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie.
As good as it is, however, I don't think Scorsese will win Best Director for it. I know this because of my extensive training in film and media studies. (Hey, if the Pop Candy chick can pretend she's an expert, why can't I?) A remake has the advantage over the original because the director/writer/producer can improve the plot holes and logic leaps (see: Abre Los Ojos vs Vanilla Sky), but they're not tasked to do anything new or innovating. And that's true of The Departed, the direction didn't stand out from any other movie, and there are a lot of upcoming films that could be considered legitimate Best Director candidates.
This movie does have a lot of Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor candidates though. DiCaprio and Damon both put in star efforts, and veterans Nicholson and Sheen are no slouches either. My guess is that one out of those four will take home the hardware. Also, Vera Farmiga is hot in that horsefaced kind of way.
Ultimately, it was a great movie that I would've liked more had I not seen the original. And that's the problem with Hollywood today, every edgy exciting new movie (and some that aren't) that's out is probably a remade version of an older or foreign film, or a movie version of a book. Maybe that's why the more critically acclaimed films are helmed by foreign directors like Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, whose Babel comes out this week. Or Borat.
As good as it is, however, I don't think Scorsese will win Best Director for it. I know this because of my extensive training in film and media studies. (Hey, if the Pop Candy chick can pretend she's an expert, why can't I?) A remake has the advantage over the original because the director/writer/producer can improve the plot holes and logic leaps (see: Abre Los Ojos vs Vanilla Sky), but they're not tasked to do anything new or innovating. And that's true of The Departed, the direction didn't stand out from any other movie, and there are a lot of upcoming films that could be considered legitimate Best Director candidates.
This movie does have a lot of Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor candidates though. DiCaprio and Damon both put in star efforts, and veterans Nicholson and Sheen are no slouches either. My guess is that one out of those four will take home the hardware. Also, Vera Farmiga is hot in that horsefaced kind of way.
Ultimately, it was a great movie that I would've liked more had I not seen the original. And that's the problem with Hollywood today, every edgy exciting new movie (and some that aren't) that's out is probably a remade version of an older or foreign film, or a movie version of a book. Maybe that's why the more critically acclaimed films are helmed by foreign directors like Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, whose Babel comes out this week. Or Borat.
posted by Eric at 9:31 AM
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