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"Infernal Affairs" (2002): A loyal young member of the mob infiltrates the police force and an undercover cop works his way deep within the mafia. Years later, each man must sniff out the mole in the other's organization
-- each man must find the other. Sound familiar? That's because this hugely suspenseful Hong Kong thriller was the basis for "The Departed," the 2006 film that finally earned Martin Scorsese his long-overdue Academy Award for best director (along with prizes for best picture, adapted screenplay and editing). The lies and cover stories must remain airtight, even as crises of identity and purpose begin to creep into the characters' consciousness. Andy Lau and Tony Leung are both great as two sides of the same coin who must tap into their resourcefulness as the danger of being exposed increases. "Compliance": This movie made me so angry while I was watching it. How could anybody be so stupid? How could anybody be tricked into falling for such outlandish manipulation? But that's where the power comes from in writer-director Craig Zobel's startling film with its understated performances: This did happen, over and over, across the country. He's just exposing an element of human nature we'd rather suppress. A prank phone caller pretending to be a police officer (Pat Healy) tells the middle-aged manager of a fast-food restaurant (Ann Dowd) that a young, pretty employee (Dreama Walker) has stolen money from a customer, and leads her though a series of increasingly invasive, degrading investigative steps. Everyone goes along with this charade
-- no one thinks to question it -- and all you can do is sit in your seat and watch, and squirm. ___ Think of any others? Share them with AP Movie Critic Christy Lemire through Twitter: http://twitter.com/christylemire.
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