Movie Loner

Ever wonder how the great singer/songwriters find the inspiration to create hits? Well, I have. John Mayer dispels a lot of myths about the process. Check this out:

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I’ve always been an Ang Lee fan. The Ice Storm is one of my favorite movies and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is filmmaking at its finest. I’ll forgive him for the overblown misfire that was Hulk, but overall the guy has proven himself time and time again exploring different genres in the process. How Lust, Caution went largely ignored by American audiences is still a mystery. Too bad because it was easily one of last year’s best films.

Hong Kong, 1938. Shy student Wong Chia Chi joins an acting troupe led by Kuang Yu Min, a budding revolutionist who is vehemently opposed to the WWII Japanese occupation of China. Patriotic plays lead to Kuang and his thespian charges embroiled in a plot to assassinate Japanese sympathizer Mr. Yee. Wong Chia Chi adopts the persona of the married Mrs. Mak befriending Mrs. Yee in an attempt to get closer to Mr. Yee. After numerous Mahjong sessions at the Yee home, Mr. Yee takes a keen interest in Mrs. Mak, but a hinted affair is never realized after the Yees abruptly relocate to Shanghai.

Shanghai, 1942. Four years pass and Wong Chai Chi is back in school and living with her aunt. A reunion with Kuang, who is now a player in the anti-Japanese movement, again places Wong in a dangerous spygame to entrap the elusive Mr. Yee. Resurrecting her Mrs. Mak identity, Wong soon begins a torrid affair with Yee. Aggressive sexual encounters draw the two together as Mrs. Mak accepts the role of mistress. Her duties to country become clouded once her feelings for Yee strengthen. Lust turns to love, and Mak/Wong is forced to choose between her loyalty to Kuang or her passion for Yee.

Tony Leung, who I’ve lauded repeatedly on these pages, takes a welcome departure from the brooding, romantic characters he usually plays and turns in a phenomenal performance as the cold-blooded Mr. Yee. But this film is all about Wei Tang, whose portrayal of Wong/Mak is a revelation. This was Wie Tang’s acting debut and if it’s any indication of her talent she has a long career ahead of her. Ang Lee continues to impress bouncing from American to native Taiwan cinema. Lust, Caution secures his rank among today’s top filmmakers.

A scene from Lust, Caution:

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Crime doesn’t pay. Who hasn’t heard this before? Still thousands of people every year think they can dupe the system and walk away with a nice cool sum that will solve all of their problems. They’ll spend countless hours trying to justify it to themselves. Nobody will get hurt. It’s a simple job. Is it, really? If you’re thinking about pulling off the perfect robbery or scam do yourself a favor and watch Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead. It will scare you straight.

Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Andy Hanson, a schlub payroll manager with a bored wife and nasty drug habit. Good ‘ol Andy has been embezzling money from his firm and he’s about to get pinched. He needs cash fast so he concocts a scheme to rob his parents suburban jewelry store. To assist in this “victimless crime” Andy enlists his meek little bro Hank (Ethan Hawke), who has financial woes of his own. Andy has it all figured out. All Hank has do is commit the robbery and it’s smooth sailing from there.

Of course, nothing goes as planned. Hank decides he’s too chicken to do it alone so he brings along a friend who happens to bring a gun. The friend is killed, and Andy and Hank’s mother, who wasn’t supposed to be at the store, ends up in the hospital with a gunshot. The brothers’ foolproof plot slowly, and painfully unravels. Guilt and paranoia seep in as Andy and Hank feebly attempt to keep it together. Meanwhile, their heartbroken father Charles (Albert Finney) seeks answers and justice.

This is a tough movie to watch. First-time screenwriter Kelly Masterson weaves a tragic, compelling story that gets bleaker as it progresses. The great director Sidney Lumet employs flashbacks to reveal backstory to this agonizing criminal tale. He provides the audience no glimmer of hope, or chance of redemption for his characters. They are trapped by their own missteps and can’t escape their deserved fates. Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead is far from the “Feel good movie of the year” but its precise execution and brilliant cast make it worth seeing.

The trailer for Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead:

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Let me get this straight. Martin Scorsese directed Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, and Goodfellas, but won nary an Oscar for any of them. Instead, he wins for 2006’s The Departed, a good, not great film. You’ve probably seen The Departed, but did you know it was a remake of a Hong Kong movie called Infernal Affairs? As is usually the case the remake fails to live up to the original.

The Hong Kong police are at war with the Triads. Two young cadets, Chan and Lau, take up opposite sides for control of the streets. Chan goes deep undercover to infiltrate Boss Sam’s crime syndicate. Lau, a secret member of Sam’s gang, climbs the police department ladder to the position of Inspector. While Chan employs morse code to tip-off his Supervisor, Lau uses cell phones and computers to forewarn Boss Sam. Both men know the other exists, but it takes a complex cat and mouse game to reveal their true identities.

After ten nerve-racking years of posing as a gangster, Chan is beginning to lose himself. As long as he remains undercover a normal life will never be attainable. Meanwhile, Lau is starting a normal life. He and his fiance move in together and make plans for the future. Lau also struggles with his dual existence; the pressure of deceiving his law enforcement brethren takes a toll. As they edge closer to discovering each other, Chan and Lau both question the validity of their respective jobs. A tense rooftop climax finally brings the two men together putting an end to their subversive ways.

It’s great to see two of Hong Kong’s best actors go head-to-head. Tony Leung and Andy Lau shine playing kindred spirits teetering the thin line between loyalty and betrayal. The clever, twisting narrative was astutely adopted by Scorsese for The Departed. Unfortunately, Scorsese’s version suffers from a neatly tied ending. Infernal Affairs doesn’t provide easy answers to its difficult questions. Good guys and bad guys are not so definable. The lack of ambiguity in American cinema makes for boring, predictable movies. Thankfully, films like Infernal Affairs are there to pick up the slack.

The trailer for Infernal Affairs:

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