Infernal Affairs

Ironically, Infernal Affairs’ production company goes by the name of Basic Pictures. Fro this is a film which is anything but: its credit sequence plays out an epic piece of scoring whilst the plotting is best defined as complex. It takes the standard ‘deep cover’ narrative and times it by two. Not only do we have a cop who has spent almost a decade undercover with various triad gangs, but also a gang member who has been masquerading as a cop for a roughly equal amount of time. Needless to say, the film plays as much on their duality as it does their differences, the influence of Michael Mann’s Heat never being too far behind.

Given co-director Andrew Lau’s background in sprightly little genre flicks - The Stormriders and the like – he’s able to complement both plot strands with an agreeable lightness of touch. His roots, if you will, are never forgotten and so Infernal Affairs works primarily as a sleek example of set-piece driven cinema, albeit with an added assuredness. Whereas his earlier works were successful on such generic terms, this particular effort sees him augmenting the approach with a greater attention to theme and character. Whenever the film is within the midst of one of its big moments – a pursuit, say, or a convoluted drug deal – it never loses sight of its key attributes, namely our undercover cop and “undercover” triad.

What’s particularly interesting about them is the manner in which they’ve been cast. As played by Tony Leung and Andy Lau (not to be confused with director Andrew Lau), our respective cop-cum-gangster and gangster-cum-cop neatly play with stereotypes and conventions. Though Lau may be the more clean-cut one if we’re going by appearances, it is he who plays the “bad guy” and as such our expectations are toyed with. Likewise Leung, prompting the characters to attain an extra dimension: on the one hand Infernal Affairs is able to enhance their individual identity crises, whilst on the other it serves to up the suspense. Because the roles don’t immediately fit the actors as we’d expect, we’re never able to take them at complete face value. Do their affinities lie were we suspect they do, or have they been in too deep for too long and are therefore unable to draw such easy distinctions? In fact, they only way the film is able to truly ground itself is by relying on supporting players Eric Tsang and Anthony Wong who, in another casting shift, embody the gangland boss and senior officer respectively. Here we know exactly what is going on, yet are also able top witness a Machiavellian angle; both are pulling the strings which allows Infernal Affairs to take on a more fatalistic air.

That said, it is important to note that this is a film which is primarily a visual experience, though here too we find that this dimension is able to match its characters. Given the continual references to identity and appearance, it is hardly surprising that Infernal Affairs should reveal a narcissistic edge. It’s forever drawing attention to itself courtesy of freeze frames, slow motion and immense crane shots, even during the most mundane of moments. Moreover, it sets in motion a series of rhymes so that Leung and Lau are essentially twinned. They’re treated to similar narratives and similar camera moves so that we are never in doubt as to the fact that they are playing two sides of the same coin and perhaps even able to follow each other’s expected career path: it is Lau who gets to play golf with the senior members of staff and is due to get married, whilst Leung has been forever thwarted in achieving such a life as to all outward appearances he is effectively just a hood. Perhaps inevitably, the film belies its generic side by including a number of obvious references to its characters’ plights – a novel being written about a man with 28 personalities; Leung asking a prospective date as to whether she thinks he’s “a good guy or a bad guy” – but on the whole this is intelligent, thoughtful stuff, whilst at the same time proving itself to be enjoyable enough to similarly work as a straight ahead, action-packed thriller.



The Disc

Pleasingly, Tartan have treated Infernal Affairs to fine presentation. The film comes in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio with anamorphic enhancement and is taken from a print in near flawless condition. Indeed, the clarity and contrast are superb, the damage amounts to about three specks of dust throughout the entire thing and the only true complaint is the slight haloing to be found in the more brightly lit scenes. Otherwise, this is an excellent effort. As for the soundtrack, here we find the usual Tartan collection of DD2.0, DD5.1 and DTS mixes. Of these it is the 5.1 offering which proves to be original soundtrack and as such is the one to go for. The stereo mix is therefore nothing more than filler, whilst the DTS doesn’t really make that much of a difference, though no doubt many will still select this option.

Of the extras, the key addition the commentary by directors Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, one which also sees interpolations by actors Andy Lau and Eric Tsang. For this sounds like one of those cut-and-paste rather than a genuine running commentary. As such it’s rather on the dry side, though given the film’s thematic complexity this doesn’t turn out to be a bad thing. That said, it may be best sampled in instalments rather than its two hour entirety. (Note also, that it comes in the Cantonese with optional English subtitles.)

Elsewhere the disc offers an alternative ending which goes for a more Hollywood-style tone (obviously I can’t discuss it too much without spoiling the film’s conclusion proper), some self-explanatory outtakes, a gallery of various international poster designs and lobby cards, the usual collection of trailers, and two featurettes. Yet whilst these latter pieces should be the more interesting, they turn out to be huge disappointments. The first, a ‘making of’, simply tries to sell us a film that we’ve already seen and indeed own, whilst the second consists solely of six-minutes worth of B-roll. Certainly, it’s nice to see that Tartan have put the effort into a providing a wide collection of extras, but sadly only a few deserve their inclusion.