Internal Affairs

"Trust him... he's a cop."

1990 1h 55m EN

😐

6.4

MID

★6.4TMDB · 463

CrimeDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Keen young Raymold Avila joins the Internal Affairs Department of the Los Angeles police. He and partner Amy Wallace are soon looking closely at the activities of cop Dennis Peck whose financial holdings start to suggest something shady. Indeed Peck is involved in any number of dubious or downright criminal activities. He is also devious, a womaniser, and a clever manipulator, and he starts to turn his attention on Avila.

“Trust him... he's a cop.”

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Cast

Richard Gere
Dennis Peck
Andy Garcia
Raymond Avila
Nancy Travis
Kathleen Avila
Laurie Metcalf
Amy Wallace
Richard Bradford
Grieb
William Baldwin
Van Stretch
Michael Beach
Dorian Fletcher
Katherine Borowitz
Tova Arrocas

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Mike Figgis
Writers: Henry Bean
Languages: English, Spanish
Countries: Canada, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

36 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Mike Figgis, shot by John A. Alonzo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Mike Figgis. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Robert Estrin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Richard Gere and Andy Garcia and Nancy Travis carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Trust him... he's a cop.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Mike Figgis directs. John A. Alonzo behind the camera. Mike Figgis scores. Robert Estrin cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Canada, United States of America. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

136 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
3International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.
4Directed by Mike Figgis, shot by John A. Alonzo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Mike Figgis. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Robert Estrin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Richard Gere and Andy Garcia and Nancy Travis carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Trust him... he's a cop.".
9IMDB entry: tt0099850 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: John A. Alonzo
Original score: Mike Figgis
Editing: Robert Estrin
Production design: Waldemar Kalinowski
Costume design: Rudy Dillon
Makeup / hair: Lelis A. Arroyo
Sound: Bob Beemer
Stunt coordinator: Gary Hymes
Runtime: 115 min · 1h 55m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $15,000,000
Box office: $27,734,391
Return: 185% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Internal Affairs (1990)

Also by

Mike Figgis

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-11-15
★ 8/10
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
CinemaSerf2023-08-26
★ 6/10
This provides the audience with quite a different role from the otherwise good looking (romantic) hero type characters usually associated with Richard Gere. In this film, he portrays "Dennis Peck", an outwardly upstanding police officer who is about as dodgy as they come underneath. When Andy Garcia is brought in to investigate goings on at his precinct, he quickly concludes that Gere's partner - the aptly named "Van Stretch" (William Baldwin) is a bit of a no good wife beater, and soon he and Gere are at loggerheads. The screenplay doesn't pull it's punches - this is an out and out depiction of domestic violence, thuggery and police corruption; and not just of one rogue officer, but of an internecine network that stretches far and wide. Gere is just OK - to be honest. He never was my favourite actor and playing the bad guy by the odd vaguely menacing glance whilst lobbing in the odd f-word didn't go anywhere near enough to remove that gentle goody-goody image. The only hair-raising thing Andy Garcia seemed likely to have ever done would have involved a heck of a lot of gel, and the whole thing has a certain professionalism about the production that neutralised, effectively, anything gritty or sordid about their behaviour. I watched it because it is freezing cold, and it was on the telly - but I'm not sure that age has helped it much, and I think maybe I won't bother again.
JPV8522025-10-06
★ 8/10
Really solid crime-drama featuring great performances all around, though probably the best in Richard Gere's career. Might not have the scope of others in the genre, but this Mike Figgis directed flick was well done. 3.75/5