We hadn't watched Marty's remake of 2002 Hong Kong cop thriller Infernal Affairs (written by Alan Mak and Felix Chong) in almost fifteen years - an oversight of some proportion. He, Thelma, writer William Monahan (The Tender Bar) and Film won Oscars. Although it runs two and a half hours, it isn't over padded or overlong, in fact it's got a terrific pace - cut at Warp Speed Thelma. I was interested that some of Marty's takes are improvised - such as here where Jack Nicholson takes out a gun on suspected informant Leo Di Caprio - and accordingly some of Thelma's editing is quite loose - she doesn't always care about exact continuity, for example. But it's a bravura piece of film directing and editing.
The story is great in its constant mirroring (and cross cutting) of mole Matt Damon and inside man Leo into Jack Nicholson's crime gang. The only people aware of the insider are Martin Sheen and a most unfriendly Mark Wahlberg. And this mirroring is extended further when Damon and Di Caprio start seeing the same woman, shrink Vera Farmiga. With Ray Winstone.
The ending is bloody amazing. Jack's terrific (being a rat, for example).
Photographed by Michael Ballhaus, music by Howard Shore, production design Kristi Zea, sound re-recording mix by Tom Fleischman.
Stand-out scene in Chinatown could have won Thelma the Oscar alone.
Fittingly, it was Marty's birthday (his 81st). Despite nine Oscar nominations this was his only win.
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