Internal Affairs (1990)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Mike Figgis

Writer (WGA):

Henry Bean (written by)

Release Date:

12 January 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller | Drama

Tagline:

Trust him... he's a cop.

Plot:

Keen young Raymold Avila joins the Internal Affairs Department of the Los Angeles police. He and partner...

Plot Keywords:

Police | Internal Affairs | Adultery | Music Score Composed By Director | Psychopath

Cast

Richard Gere	...	Dennis Peck
Andy Garcia	...	Raymond Avilla
Laurie Metcalf	...	Amy Wallace
Nancy Travis	...	Kathleen Avilla
Richard Bradford	...	Grieb
William Baldwin	...	Van Stretch
Michael Beach	...	Dorian Fletcher
Katherine Borowitz	...	Tova Arrocas
Faye Grant	...	Penny Stretch
John Kapelos	...	Steven Arrocas
Xander Berkeley	...	Rudy Mohr
John Capodice	...	Chief Healy
Victoria Dillard	...	Kee
Pamella D'Pella	...	Cheryl
Susan Forristal	...	Lolly

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Iceland:16 | Canada:A (Ontario) | USA:R (Certificate #29892) | Italy:VM14 | Argentina:18 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

City Hall - 200 N. Spring Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Out of the Town Films

Goofs:

Continuity: The first time Avila is following Peck, Peck is in his Corvette convertible with the hardtop on. After driving for several miles, the top is gone. Corvette hardtops do not fold down and there is no room to carry them on the car unless they are in place.

Quotes:

[conferring in private after Raymond offered immunity to Van Stretch]
Amy Wallace: You are not authorized to make this deal. It's a violation even to *offer* it!
Raymond Avila: Look at him. He wants to talk. If Peck were clean, there'd be nothing to talk about.
Amy Wallace: I am the senior partner. *Your* mistakes go on *my* file! Either you retract the offer to Van or *I will*!
[Raymond shakes his head]
Amy Wallace: All right. How about this then? Why don't you and Dennis Peck both *pull them out* and I'll decide which one's bigger!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Jeff Goldblum/Aerosmith (#19.3)" (1993)

Soundtrack:

KEEP ON PUSHIN'

Mind games. Manipulation. Corruption. Welcome to the world of Dennis Peck.

I have never quite seen a movie like this before. In it, Richard Gere plays his most sinister role and I think his best character in years. There are many disturbing elements in this film and most of them are perpetrated by Richard Gere's Dennis Peck. He knows how to manipulate people to get what he wants and if that doesn't work he uses other measures.

The story goes like this: Richard Gere plays a cop that everyone owes a favour to. He is everyone's friend and everyone's silent worst enemy. He also lives a little above his income should allow him too and this is why he is being investigated by internal affairs. Enter Andy Garcia as Raymond, in a mesmerizing performance. These two know they are going to square off in the film and Peck has fun tormenting him.

Peck is a charismatic, good looking, wealthy play boy. He knows how to use what he has to his advantage, and that eventually means playing with Raymond's head to make him think that he is sleeping with his wife. Did I mention that he is intuitive? And this is established so brilliantly in one of their first meetings together that it makes you cringe.

Peck introduces himself to Raymond and at first he seems very co-operative assuring Raymond that he realizes Ray has a job to do just like he does. But the conversation takes an abrupt turn when Peck begins to hit too close to home when he begins to question how good Raymond's love life is right now. He knows he spends too much time at the office and that he has a beautiful, young wife that may be neglected. The scene works beautifully and sets up the psychological battle that takes place between the two as the film goes on. The next scene they have with each other is enough to make every man cringe at the cruelty of it.

Internal Affairs is a character study at it's finest. There are few films out there that can compare to this one and that can be attributed to the director, Mike Figgis. He hits every note perfectly and the performances he gets from his cast is such a joy to watch. I am surprised that Andy Garcia hasn't gone on to be bigger than he is because he was outstanding here.

This is an absolute must see for anyone that hasn't had the pleasure of doing so yet. But beware, there are some scenes that will get under your skin, especially if you spend too much time at the office and you have a beautiful woman waiting for you at home. What is she doing right now? Who is she with? Are you paranoid or are your concerns real? This film has fun with that paranoia.