Internal Affairs

Plot synopsis:
During a drug bust, LAPD patrolmen Dennis Peck (Gere) and Van Stretch (William Baldwin) viciously assault a dealer and his girlfriend. Outside, fellow patrolman Dorian Fletcher (Michael Beach) shoots a man running towards him, only to discover that he was unarmed. While Fletcher is distraught by the incident, Peck plants a knife on the body to get Fletcher off the hook. Soon afterwards, Raymond Avila (Garcia) joins the LAPD's Internal Affairs Division (IAD) and is assigned to investigate the drug bust with partner Amy Wallace (Metcalf).
The investigation reveals that Stretch abuses drugs, has a history of excessive force, and may be corrupt. Avila eventually begins to look into Peck, who is held up as a role model for the LAPD but is regarded with distaste by other officers over his brutal techniques. Avila unsuccessfully pressures Stretch to provide evidence against Peck in return for immunity from prosecution. Fletcher, who has gotten into an altercation with Peck, agrees to help Avila's investigation. Avila's marriage starts to wilt due to his increased obsession with the case, and Peck insinuates he will make advances on Raymond's wife, Kathleen.
When Stretch makes it known that he will testify, Peck resolves to have him murdered. During a routine patrol in Huntington Park, Stretch is shot through the chest in a hit staged by Peck. After Peck murders the hitman, he sees the blue van used in the hit speeding away, indicating a witness to the crime. When Stretch is revealed to be alive, Peck strangles him. Avila and Wallace set up a sting to catch the witness, but two SWAT units arrive on the scene after the sting is leaked. Fletcher and the witness are killed in the resulting shootout. As he dies in Avila's arms, he identifies Peck as Stretch's killer.
Posing as an IAD investigator, Peck meets and insinuates himself with Kathleen, with the intent of signalling to Avila that he can manipulate the situation to his advantage. The episode angers Avila, who is sent home when he has an outburst at the office. As he is leaving on the elevator, Avila is beaten by Peck, who boasts that he has seduced Kathleen and that she loved having anal sex with him. As a result, Avila has a violent public confrontation with Kathleen at a restaurant. The two make up the following morning when Kathleen convinces Avila that she would never sleep with Peck.
Breaking under pressure, Peck's wife reveals the name of one of his associates, Steven Arrocas, which also happens to be the last name of two recent homicide victims. Meanwhile, Arrocas walks in on Peck having rough sex with his wife. Peck tries to goad Arrocas into killing her, but Arrocas accidentally shoots Peck in the foot instead. Avila and Wallace meet on the scene and split up. Peck ambushes and shoots Wallace and flees. Avila, fearing for Kathleen's safety, returns home to find Peck about to rape her. Peck pulls a knife out of his boot and lunges at Avila, who shoots him dead. Avila tries to comfort his terrorized wife.

Tags: neo noir, murder

Review:
The hero of the movie is Raymond Avila (Andy Garcia), newly assigned to the Internal Affairs division of the LAPD and a friend of Peck's partner, Van Stretch (Stephen Baldwin).
Peck is the embodiment of all the bad guys in police thrillers and none of the cops in them.Of all of the actors you could find to play a guy like this, who would have guessed that a likable actor like Richard Gere would ever fit the bill.
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.
This intelligent and well-directed thriller has some brutal, extremely violent scenes, but what makes you really come closer to the tension created by this original and realistic plot is the psychological confrontation among the two main characters, and Mike Figgis works out on it,settling the battle in the sexual and physical aspects,what is evident in the second meeting of Garcia and Gere:Raymond Avila (Andy Garcia, who develops his role in a silent, but extremely lowering form) is a correct, honest Internal Affairs' agent, and he receives the mission to investigate Dennis Peck (Richard Gere, in what can be easily pointed as his best career's performance), a corrupt,charming and cruel cop who has a lot of ex-wives and sons.The moment in which Peck and Avila are together breaks out an explosive hostility: Peck starts to talk about family, and suddenly touches in a sensitive issue, Avila's  wife.Avila doesn't like Peck's provocation, and hits him.The battle is set.This scene is very thrilling and memorable.The sound track and the photography contribute to build a hot and agile rhythm.
Atmospheric drama about a good cop (Andy Garcia) going after a bad cop (Richard Gere).
Richard Gere and Andy Garcia are the two conflicting lead characters in this superlative cop thriller.
Garcia plays Raymond Avilla, an Internal Affairs officer who has just started in a new precinct to work with his new partner, Amy Wallace (Laurie Metcalf).
It stars Richard Gere, Andy Garcia, Nancy Travis, William Baldwin and Laurie Metcalf.
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.
Andy Garcia plays an Internal Affairs investigator who swears a personal vendetta against corrupt street cop Richard Gere.
The subject here (police corruption) is banal, but it gains extra value and weight by Figgis' atmospheric direction and, especially, by Richard Gere's powerful performance in perhaps his most atypical role (and as far as I know, his only truly villainous one).
The subject here (police corruption) is banal, but it gains extra value and weight by Figgis' atmospheric direction and, especially, by Richard Gere's powerful performance in perhaps his most atypical role (and as far as I know, his only truly villainous one).
One Amoral Cop. In Internal Affairs LAPD cop Andy Garcia finds himself transferred there and finds out despite the snow job given him, it's quite true nobody likes these people in the department.
However Garcia's and Metcalf's investigation of Baldwin leads to uncovering a hole host of illegal activities linked to his partner Richard Gere.Gere in this film has one of the most amoral characters ever put on celluloid.
Gere presses a lot of Andy's buttons, one of the things that makes him so dangerous is that he is a master psychologist without a degree.Although Internal Affairs gets a bit too melodramatic at times, the cast performs well in their roles and fans of Richard Gere and Andy Garcia should definitely see this..
Gere vs Garcia in the Seedier Side of Tinsel Town : An Enjoyable Cop Thriller that Never lets Up. Just when you think you know where this movie is headed, it does a U-turn.
Richard Gere plays, or better stated, is infiltrated by Dennis Peck, a kind of Godfather-equivalent of a leading police officer in Los Angeles law enforcement.
Gere plays the different sides of Peck very effectively, first showing an amiable demeanor which cloaks a much more sinister and heinous interior that begins to give-way about half-way through the movie.Andy Garcia plays the new kid on the block, Raymond Avilla, an internal affairs investigator, a kind of detective for cops.
I've long been a fan of Richard Gere, with his strong jaw, gorgeous eyes and winning smile, so watching him play the dirty cop Dennis Peck was a startling experience.
Internal Affairs is a tight crime thriller that pits him against IAD officer Raymond Avilla (Andy Garcia), as the two engage in a roller coaster of hits and misses to bring the other down.Avilla goes after Peck's finances and the cops he takes care of, trying to turn them against their intimidating leader, while Peck goes after Avilla's wife to try to rip him apart from the inside.
Garcia counters perfectly as the more emotional Avilla, a man whose pride won't allow him to let Peck get off clean and whose temper often gets the better of him.Mike Figgis directs Internal Affairs with a solid vision, knowing when to key up the dramatics and when to slow things down properly.
Gere's magnetic as Peck, writer Henry Bean's composition is absorbing, save for the comparatively lockstep finale, and director Mike Figgis, a maker of moody, frequently experimental dramas and thrillers known for his psychological investigation of characters, knows how to turn on a restrained, genuine sensual intensity.Figgis never lets the tempo decelerate long enough to reveal the narrative's slenderness regardless of, looking back, a less than average quantity of "action." Figgis gets how to latch the viewer without relying on that.
Gere, as the suave corrupt cop and Garcia as the IAD investigator are great.William Baldwin as a troubled wife beater was good too.
It deals with an investigation led by Andy Garcia and Laurie Metcalfe, partners in the internal affairs department.
They are investigating possible illegal activities by a really nasty character played by Richard Gere.First, the good: Andy Garcia's acting was pretty good, Richard Gere was rather great as a total evil scumbag.
The movie also lacked a satisfying ending, in my opinion, and was doing pretty OK up until that point.Regardless of its flaws, though, Andy Garcia and Richard Gere are perfect enemies in this rather enjoyable film..
I found this movie much more interesting on second viewing that on first, in which I expected (and saw) not much more than another police picture, with the hero from Internal Affairs rooting out a corrupt and fratricidal (indeed, sorocidal) cop from the division, and it's engaging enough on that level, as a thriller.
Mike Figgis's otherwise fairly routine story of police corruption is made exceptional by its exploration of male sexuality, and by a powerful performance by Richard Gere as the bad cop, Dennis Peck.
Raymond Avila (Andy Garcia), a new man in the Internal Affairs Department, is determined to bring Peck down, but initially finds himself hampered by tight mouths.
He is also devious, a womanizer, and a clever manipulator, and he starts to turn his attention on Avila.Everyone talks about how good Richard Gere is in this movie.
Garcia plays an internal affairs investigator at LAPD who becomes obsessed with nailing a corrupt cop, played by Gere.
Internal Affairs is a totally different movie for him in which he does a 180 and portrays a very unlikeable villain.Richard Gere is Officer Dennis Peck, a morally corrupt patrol officer who is not above roughing up suspects, planting evidence, intimidating others, using other police officers as pawns in his own games, and a womaniser who often cheats on his wife.
Other supporting cast members including Nancy Travis as Raymond's wife Kathleen and Michael Beach as Officer Dorian Fletcher round out the cast.Internal Affairs is a quality thriller that builds very slowly and then traps the viewer in a psychological maze of cat and mouse which doesn't let up until the very end of the movie.
Now all we get are superhero movies, but I digress.Richard Gere plays the ultimate bad ass and alpha male cop on the streets (before Denzel did it), woman love him and men respect his gangster.Andy Garcia plays the internal affairs agent who is trying to take Gere down.
You'll probably like him even less at the end, but for all the right reasons.Here he plays Dennis Peck, a truly nasty piece of work; and believe me, Gere makes him nasty - a smooth-talking, credible sociopath who lies as easily as he breathes, and will stop at nothing to maintain his good, corrupt life - and he does it all without ever once raising his voice.
None of this stops him doing what he thinks he needs to do though, and anyone who stands in his way is in trouble.Andy Garcia is also good as the buttoned-down IA investigator who makes Peck his cause célèbre, and the cat-and-mouse game played out between the two of them and their respective wives makes good watching.I wish they'd made more use of Laurie Metcalf, who I've always liked, and it does seem unlikely that such levels of corruption by a single officer would have gone unnoticed for so long; but they're fairly minor criticisms and, in the end, the play's the thing.And it's a darn good one..
Serpico, Dark Blue, Unlawful Entry: Some of the many titles we've seen related to police corruption and unorthodox officers' behavior however (and I must admit he's done a stellar job at doing this), Figgis delves deeper into the issue - the corrupt officer's mind, reminding us of Treat Williams in Prince of The City, with a total different outcome of course.We feel enveloped in fear by Gere's portrayal of Officer Dennis Peck, a shrewd and merciless individual who'll let nothing stand in his way when it comes to masterminding and conducting a series of illicit activities while wearing the LAPD uniform.
As such, he'll try to rid himself of Sgt. Raymond Avila, a new entry into the Internal Affairs Division who immediately senses Peck's viciousness and begins investigating him.Richard Gere, as many of us know, has had an artistic education (pianist and composer) and I do believe such characteristics, besides his obvious talent as an actor, have contributed to his ability to mold his personality no matter the script; I dare to say "to successfully improvise", as many artists have done and do, allowing him to show us what lives behind the movie title.I believe this will stay in many viewers' minds for quite some time after seeing it..
Richard Gere gives his most evil performance(and one of his best) as a corrupt cop and master manipulator, and Andy Garcia is his IAD adversary.
Raymond Avila has just joined the internal affairs police department of Los Angeles, where he goes about trying to bring down Dennis Peck a dirty cop who has a very smart, but dangerous sway about him.
While director Mike Figgis won't win any awards for originality in what is a basic corrupt cop dramatic thriller, it's still an interestingly potent showing due to the character traits that are illustrated throughout the productive material (where it becomes a blurred vision of the good and bad guys as their methods and mindsets are closer than you would think) with committed powerhouse turns by Richard Gere (against type) and Andy Garcia.
Andy Garcia is an LAPD Internal Affairs operative investigating crooked cop Richard Gere, who may be an officer but is certainly no gentleman in this violent neo-noir thriller.
It's not often you see Richard Gere play the bad guy in films but judging by his performance in Internal Affairs he should do it more often.
Andy Garcia is a macho good cop, trying to nail Richard Gere for his crimes.
Finally, with the sexy Richard Gere and Andy Garcia (oh, and Baldwin is not so bad, either), how could it not be the best ever movie for "not-so-proper" English ladies?.
By the end, it's a bit of a mess: at one point the female lead accuses the male protagonists of effectively staging a dick-swinging contest, but the final scene is effectively exactly one of those, with even Andy Garcia's "good cop" acting with apparent total disregard for the well-being of his wife (who he has, it should be noted, hit in public earlier in the movie): the film becomes increasingly unpleasant and decreasingly plausible as it progresses.
Andy Garcia and Laurie Metcalf, working together for the Internal Affairs division on the Los Angeles police force, attempt to nab psychotic cop Richard Gere, who has been leaving a trail of dead bodies throughout the city.
Richard Gere is at his best here as Peck and Andy Garcia is Raymond Avilla, the investigator determined to bring Peck to justice.
Peck toys with Avilla by confusing him with his wife's loyalty and killing off friends of his.Richard Gere's performance goes down without question as one of the greatest performances that I have ever seen on film.
Andy Garcia plays an internal affairs cop on his first day investigating a case that leads back to a "cop that get things done" played by Richard Gere.
INTERNAL AFFAIRS (1990) *** Richard Gere, Andy Garcia, Nancy Travis, Laurie Metcalf, William Baldwin.
Absorbing thriller with Garcia and partner Metcalf as internal affairs cops investigating scumball cop Gere and his penchant for violence and sex.
STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All CostsThis is a highly worthwhile thriller to catch.It has a brilliantly scripted story but also cleverly focuses on character build up/development so that it becomes a thoroughly emersing affair.Andy Garcia and Nancy Travis are great in their supporting roles as the husband/wife who are almost torn apart by all the treachery and deceit going on,but Richard Gere effortlessly steals the show as the menacing corrupt cop,bringing a chilling note of nastyness to his role as he mentally torments Garcia.****.
Raymond Avila (Andy Garcia) works for the Internal Affairs Department with his partner Amy Wallace (Laurie Metcalf).
He's in for a rude awakening when young Hispanic Internal Affairs agent, Raymond Avilla (Andy Garcia) investigates Peck's partner, Van Stretch (William Baldwyn), prone to violent outbursts and other criminal activities.
Over the years he's been helpful to many of his fellow officers and his ability to call in favours from them whenever needed has provided him with a power-base which he effectively used to operate his criminal activities.Peck comes to the attention of a newly appointed LAPD Internal Affairs investigator called Raymond Avila (Andy Garcia), after the conduct of his partner Van Stretch (William Baldwin) gives cause for concern.
Andy Garcia does well as he portrays the range of behaviours of his character who lacks any real warmth or the ability to empathize with others.Peck is a charming psychopath and an inveterate womaniser and Richard Gere's magnificent as he shows brilliantly his ability to be equally convincing whether he's playing the helpful colleague, a calculating manipulator of other people or a vicious killer."Internal Affairs" is ultimately a surprisingly enjoyable movie with some strong characters and an exceptional villain..
The closer the investigation gets to Peck the more dangerous it gets for Avilla and his partner as Peck is owed favours by a lot of people.This was a fine thriller; Richard Gere did a fine job playing against type as the corrupt cop Peck; the more we got to know the character the more evil he seemed; playing opposite him Andy Garcia is as good playing honest cop Avilla; a character who could self destruct if he continues to let Peck get under his skin.
"Internal Affairs" is a solid cop thriller with a great cast; not only the two leads, but also with notable performances from Nancy Travis and Laurie Metcalf.
It's a wicked game of psychological warfare as I.A. detective Andy Garcia goes up against corrupt LAPD cop Richard Gere.
a very passionate papito.y' yo amo this movie,never sick of it, even if it is sad when William Baldwin character Van Stretch killed by Dennis peck rich gere.Richard was MEAN in this just all type of sleaze he was great in it though.
Van Stretch(Baldwin)should have known not to trust this guy,Richard gere(Dennis peck)was so bad in this film,very great acting on all parts!the ending is the best but avail the entire movie is ten stars easy...adiós..Most Beautiful BMW Redhead over at Facebook.
As ridiculous as the plot is, you can see the end, and about everything in between, coming at you a mile away.Raymond Avilla (Andy Garcia) is an officer in the LAPD in the Internal Affairs Division.
Peck is also ultra-psychotic and murders his so-called best friend and partner, the unfortunate officer Stretch, to keep him from talking to internal affairs and exposing Peck's comfy criminal arrangements.I have to wonder why such a good actor as Richard Gere would have taken on such a two-dimensional role as Dennis Peck.
The film stars Andy Garcia as an Internal Affairs agent who locks horns with Richard Gere's Dennis Peck.
Andy Garcia plays Raymond Avilla, a young hotshot police officer ambitiously rising through the ranks of the LAPD and working for the Internal Affairs Division.
Gere as Peck is a pretty good villain but the things he actually does when actually committing crimes in this are so outrageous it makes one wonder why Internal Affairs has a hard time catching him in the act..