Review of Internal Affairs (1990) by Stuart K — 05 Aug 2013

After Mike Figgis had a big success with the noirish Stormy Monday (1988), he was whisked off to Hollywood by producer Frank Mancuso Jr. whose father was head of Paramount Pictures at the time. This would put Figgis briefly on the road to a successful directing career, but it would be short lived, yet his Hollywood debut showcased his confidence.

In the LAPD, Dennis Peck (Richard Gere) is a well respected cop, who has made many successful arrests and won the respect of the city. However, that's all a facade, as it turns out that Peck is actually a corrupt cop, he's a nasty piece of work and a sleazy womaniser.

Raymond Avilla (Andy Garcia) has just been promoted to Internal Affairs, where he was investigating officer Van Stretch (William Baldwin) for using excessive force during an arrest, and Avilla's investigations lead him to Peck, who finds out and decides to terrorise Avilla's wife Kathleen (Nancy Travis) and partner Amy Wallace (Laurie Metcalf).

Figgis made a good choice as this for his follow up to Stormy Monday, as it's a tough, down-and-dirty cop film. Gere gives a good villainous performance, and it helped to revive his career after a slump in the late 1980's.

It shows that Figgis was, and still is, an underrated director, but it's a shame he went all arty with his films.