Internal Affairs

Plot

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

Release Year: 1990

Rating: 6.4/10 (7,750 voted)

Director:
Mike Figgis

Stars: Richard Gere, Andy Garcia, Laurie Metcalf

Storyline
Keen young Raymold Avila joins the Internal Affairs Department of the Los Angeles police. He and partner Amy Wallace are soon looking closely at the activities of cop Dennis Peck whose financial holdings start to suggest something shady. Indeed Peck is involved in any number of dubious or downright criminal activities. He is also devious, a womaniser, and a clever manipulator, and he starts to turn his attention on Avila.

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

Taglines:
Trust him… he's a cop.

Release Date: 12 January 1990

Filming Locations: City Hall – 200 N. Spring Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Gross: $27,734,391
(USA)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Did You Know?

Trivia:

Michael Biehn was considered for the role of Van Stretch.

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:

Amy Wallace:
What Oat's said about your fellow officers honouring and respecting you is, as you probably know, complete crap. Most of the cops hate our guts. To the extent that they credit us with having any. They think we're climbers who went into I.A.D. for the promotions, which is true, not that we necessarily get them. So, they're polite because they're afraid of us. That's all.

User Review

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

Rating: 9/10

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.