Internal Affairs

Directed by Mike Figgis, Internal Affairs follows Andy Garcia’s Raymond Avilla as he becomes obsessed with taking down a corrupt cop (Richard Gere’s Dennis Peck) responsible for a myriad of crimes (including murder). It’s an electrifying premise that’s employed to watchable yet distressingly erratic effect by Figgis, as the filmmaker, working from Henry Bean’s screenplay, delivers an often incongruously deliberate endeavor that ultimately feels as though it’s at least a half hour longer than necessary – with the decidedly less-than-taut atmosphere diminishing the effectiveness and impact of several key sequences. There’s little doubt, then, that Internal Affairs‘ passable vibe is due predominantly to the superb work of its various performers, as Gere’s absolutely magnetic turn as the progressively menacing antihero is matched by scene-stealing periphery players like Laurie Metcalf, William Baldwin, and Michael Beach. And although Figgis does manage to inject the proceedings with a handful of engrossing interludes, Internal Affairs‘ overall success is hampered by the director’s often needlessly avant-garde approach to Bean’s straight-forward screenplay – with the entirely ineffectual climax certainly the most obvious casualty of Figgis’ oddball sensibilities. The end result is a decent-enough drama that does, for the most part, feel like it should be much, much better, which is a shame, certainly, given that Gere steps into the shoes of a seriously irredeemable character with a mustache-twirling glee that often proves impossible to resist.

**1/2 out of ****