美国版《无间道》赢得世界失去自己

“如果一个人赢得了世界，却失去了自己，那还有什么意义呢？”这个在教堂鼓吹的座右铭在美国版的《无间道》中也同样适用。有评论说大牌好莱坞导演马丁-斯科塞斯 (Martin Scorsese)在这部趋鹜的美国版《无间道》中也失去了自己。竞学网影视英语频道与你一起关注。
It's a common maxim¹ preached in church, but less so at the movies..."What good is it if a man gains the whole world and loses his own soul?" It's the losing of one's soul that Martin Scorsese's new film The Departed is chiefly concerned with. The title is taken from a Catholic prayer card Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) sees at his uncle's funeral...something about the 'faithful departed.' The title links literally² to the theme of death so prominently featured in the film.

The last shot leaves us with its controlling image...that of a rat scampering³ across the balcony rail of a high rise condo that looks out on a golden dome⁴ in Boston.It invokes⁵ the holy Muslim Shrines⁶ of the Middle East but for Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), the gold is more literal. An orphan⁷ raised by crime lord Frank Costello (Jack⁸ Nicholson), Sullivan wants the gold and all it brings with it. He aspires⁹ to the high life, the upper class he's spent his life trying to deceive his way into. He even picks his girlfriend Madolyn (Vera Farmiga) because she's going to be a doctor.
The Departed is Scorses's best film of late. It lacks the pretentious¹⁰ underpinnings and ponderous¹¹ style of The Gangs of New York and The Aviator¹² and feels more like a throwaway genre¹³ film for him. Of course, it's a genre he nearly created--at least for the modern era--starting with Mean Streets and culminating with Goodfellas. The film is loose, fast, surprising and multitudinously profane¹⁴. It should be the biggest box office grosser of his career.

Besides the masterful direction of Scorsese, the real reason to see the film is the cast and their fantastic performances. Mark Wahlberg sizzles in a supporting role that's sharp-edged, fast, and funny...a James Cagney-like role. Nicholson clown-princes his way through every frame. His work is closer to his antics as the Joker in Batman than his nuanced, deeply felt work in As Good As it Gets and About Schmidt. But it's still Jack Nicholson in a Martin Scorsese film for freaks' sake!

Note

Catholic n. 天主教      scamper v. 奔跑
ponderous adj.冗长的  genren.类型、流派   profane n.亵渎.