Internal Affairs (1990)

Like a big baby with buttons all over. I push the buttons. Internal Affairs is directed by Mike Figgis and written by Henry Bean. It stars Richard Gere, Andy Garcia, Nancy Travis, William Baldwin and Laurie Metcalf. Music is jointly produced by Figgis, Brian Banks and Anthony Marinelli and cinematography is by John A. Alonzo. Stylish neo-noir that has Gere as Dennis Peck, a crooked cop under investigation by IAD operatives Garcia and Metcalf. Peck is a master manipulator, a devious bastard who has his fingers in so many mud pies he could start his own bakery. Gere is on fire with the role, imbuing Peck with a menacing nastiness that’s a constant throughout the entire play. Once Figgis and Bean have laid the character foundations, the plot turns into a psychological battle of wills and skills between Peck and Raymond Avila (Garcia), with Peck always one step ahead because he knows where Avila’s weakness is. Figgis slow burns the tension with great aplomb, then unleashes the beasts for the thriller aspects of Bean’s screenplay. The look and feel of the piece is that of doom, deftly positing Peck’s vileness within a city awash with crooks, hookers and hitmen for hire. 8/10