INFERNAL AFFAIRS (Mo-Gaan-Do)
Reviewed by Harvey S. Karten
Miramax Films
Grade: B
Directed by: Andrew Lau, Alan Mak
Written by: Felix Chong, Alan Mak
Cast: Andy Lau, Tony Leung, Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang,
Edison Chen, Shawn Yue, Lam Ka Tung,
Chapman To, Sammi Cheng, Kelly Chen, Elva Hsia
Screened at: Broadway, NYC, 8/25/04
"Infernal Affairs" is unlike most cops-and-robbers melodramas
we've come to expect from the Hong Kong film industry. The
idea is original, the plot sometimes so complex with so many
characters that an audience not entirely familiar with the two
stars will wonder who's who. Is Yan (Tony Leung), a veteran cop
who is working undercover with a Triad gang turning into a
criminal himself? Is Ming (Andy Lau), who by contrast is a
gangster working as a mole in the police force about to turn over
a new leaf? The internal tension in the two men, both of whom
are under great pressure in dangerous assignments, could affect
them to such an extent that they might ponder exchanging roles.
This is a psychological thriller, nicely paced, that explores the
mental processes of the two amid a background of cocaine
trafficking.
When a failed drug bust make it obvious to both crime boss
Sam (Eric Tsang) and the police, Yan, who ironically holds Sam's
greatest trust is assigned to sniff out the mole while Ming has the
job of looking for the cop-playing-gangster. Should either take
too long in discovering his opposite, his identity would be
revealed with dire consequences.
Filmed by Lai Yiu Fai in a Hong Kong that looks like a sci-fi
version of New York in the year 2012 which retains its older,
dirtier, more crowded neighborhoods, "Infernal Affairs" is nicely
paced with a particularly humorous role taken by Eric Tsang as
the drug lord who is confident of outwitting the police, even dining
on a lavish array of Chinese dishes courtesy of the police forces
questioning him. While the female roles are skimpy, "Infernal
Affairs" is not a testosterone thriller that would turn off a potential
female audience and without kung-fu histrionics is a chess game
with an uncompromising finale.
Not Rated. 101 minutes. © 2004 by Harvey Karten
at harveycritic@cs.com
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