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Internal Affairs (1990)
Not to be confused with the other eight films listed on the IMDB with the same title, the 1990 crime thriller Internal Affairs stretches story credibility and takes way too long to bring the bad guy to justice, despite some solid performances.
The film stars Andy Garcia as Raymond Avila, a police officer who has just been transferred to Internal Affairs, is immediately assigned to a case revolving an officer he was in the academy with named Van Stretchy (William Baldwin), but Van's case leads him to another officer named Dennis Peck (Richard) who is way dirtier than Van ever was, but for some reason, Avila can't get anything to stick to this guy.
Screenwriter Henry Bean (Deep Cover) seems to be the primary culprit in what's wrong with this movie. I liked the idea of placing a film inside Internal Affairs because the Internal Affairs division is usually on the periphery of most police dramas, but this one takes liberties that this reviewer found a little hard to believe. It's doubtful that on his very first case in the department, that Avila would be allowed to work on an investigation centered around an officer with whom he had a personal relationship. It's not long before he appears to be taking the lead on his very contest and because of other personal circumstances, finds himself acting in ways that appear way outside the law and he doesn't appear to suffer any consequences for said behavior.
The most troubling of the above reference personal consequences are how Avila's wife (Nancy Travis) is thrown into this cinematic frying pan, that also involves Van's wife (Faye Grant) and Peck's wife (Annabella Sciorra). Interesting touch to have all the major players be married (some with children) and get them all involved in this investigation, ending up as varied examples of collateral damages of the actions of all three principals, not just Peck. The screenplay is way too protective of Dennis Peck, making the film slightly longer than need be, especially an unbearably dragged out conclusion.
Director Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas) attempts to employ elements of anger and erotica that don't really accomplish anything but slowing up the film. Garcia's slick Avila commands the screen (his scene in the restaurant with Travis reminded me of the "Say Goodnight to the Bad Guy" scene in Scarface) and Richard Gere has rarely been better as the dirty cop in self-preservation mode, but the whole thing need to have been concluded more economically than it was.
Not to be confused with the other eight films listed on the IMDB with the same title, the 1990 crime thriller Internal Affairs stretches story credibility and takes way too long to bring the bad guy to justice, despite some solid performances.
The film stars Andy Garcia as Raymond Avila, a police officer who has just been transferred to Internal Affairs, is immediately assigned to a case revolving an officer he was in the academy with named Van Stretchy (William Baldwin), but Van's case leads him to another officer named Dennis Peck (Richard) who is way dirtier than Van ever was, but for some reason, Avila can't get anything to stick to this guy.
Screenwriter Henry Bean (Deep Cover) seems to be the primary culprit in what's wrong with this movie. I liked the idea of placing a film inside Internal Affairs because the Internal Affairs division is usually on the periphery of most police dramas, but this one takes liberties that this reviewer found a little hard to believe. It's doubtful that on his very first case in the department, that Avila would be allowed to work on an investigation centered around an officer with whom he had a personal relationship. It's not long before he appears to be taking the lead on his very contest and because of other personal circumstances, finds himself acting in ways that appear way outside the law and he doesn't appear to suffer any consequences for said behavior.
The most troubling of the above reference personal consequences are how Avila's wife (Nancy Travis) is thrown into this cinematic frying pan, that also involves Van's wife (Faye Grant) and Peck's wife (Annabella Sciorra). Interesting touch to have all the major players be married (some with children) and get them all involved in this investigation, ending up as varied examples of collateral damages of the actions of all three principals, not just Peck. The screenplay is way too protective of Dennis Peck, making the film slightly longer than need be, especially an unbearably dragged out conclusion.
Director Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas) attempts to employ elements of anger and erotica that don't really accomplish anything but slowing up the film. Garcia's slick Avila commands the screen (his scene in the restaurant with Travis reminded me of the "Say Goodnight to the Bad Guy" scene in Scarface) and Richard Gere has rarely been better as the dirty cop in self-preservation mode, but the whole thing need to have been concluded more economically than it was.