Driven by a twisting, well
fleshed out script and some very well honed performances, 1990’s Internal Affairs is a police
crime-thriller about the investigations into corruption in a Los Angeles police precinct. Ambitious and
well liked cop Raymond Avila (Andy Garcia) joins the department’s Internal
Affairs Division where his first assignment is to investigate a former
colleague (William Baldwin) who is linked to a possible evidence plant. His
initial investigations hint at something more sinister going on in the
department and his attention is soon diverted towards respected cop and
attentive family man Dennis Peck (Richard Gere).
This movie was recently
recommended to me and I can understand its appeal. The script is tight and well
written and I was kept on tender hooks by the various twists and reveals. The
story goes down avenues you don’t expect from the setup and the characters are
wonderfully created and performed. Richard Gere’s Dennis Peck in particular
turns into something I haven’t seen the actor become before. I’ve always had a
bit of a problem with Gere as I’ve often found him to be too clean cut and
weedy. Here he is anything but, playing a vicious, womanising, near psychopath
who builds and builds in a creepy and quite way as the film progresses. Andy
Garcia’s Raymond Avila is tormented by his prey and the interactions and bust
ups between the two are some of the highlights of the film.
