Dearly Departed...from the Script!

They changed the ending! I cannot believe that Hollywood believes the American public are so immature that they need closure to everything!

I have just been to Martin Scorcese's, "The Departed", a film based on an excellent Asian movie called, "Infernal Affairs". The new version features a wonderful cast and great direction; it's very enjoyable. Then it blows it all with literally the last cheap shot. The original had ended very uncomfortably, one might even say nastily. This ending, different to the original, is presumably there to leave the audience satisfied, but I for one far from being satisfied was angered causing me to reevaluate everything. And funnily enough that's just what these filmmakers have done. What had been a highly ambiguous film where the two main protogonists were slightly skewed mirror images of one another, so much so that any slight twist of Fate might have reversed their roles, now becomes your conventional black against white, cowboys and indians. Even Di Caprio's performance, which I initially felt was a little one-note, now seems totally of a piece with what the new intentions are. He isn't a calm supercop (despite his steady hand) to match Damon's supercrook, he's just the underdog who never got the breaks, while Damon was privileged. The movie becomes a popcorn piece instead of the dark seventies-style movie it should have been. No matter what the critics say, this is a sad day for Scorcese; he's sold out.

I really wish Scorcese had let things alone. It would have been uncomfortable sure, but appropriate. Instead it's just a nihilistic bloodbath.

In contrast I really liked "Children of Men" yesterday. It's a companion piece to "V for Vendetta" and is the latest in a lineage that includes "Fahrenheit 451". Quite apart from that it's a pretty strong reworking of the Flight into Eqypt story that is not afraid to leave the audience with questions. Sure, there are holes, but I've seen enough of human stupidity to know human behaviour doesn't always have a rational answer. Even Michael Caine as a hippie just about worked (he did his job well). Good to see Latin America (well, Cuaron is from Mexico) making a strong input into the mainstream.