Internal Affairs (1990) - 5/10

This might be the first movie from the watchlist so far that really shows its age from a political correctness standpoint. Now, I think there are a couple of things happening. Firstly, the movie is from 1990 making it 35 years old (fuck I hated typing that). Secondly, the film seems designed to be a gritty R-rated adult crime film. Point being, this film has some issues that make it so that it would not fit the sensibilities of today's audiences. And while I try my best to not to hold a film to today's social 'standards', it does help solidify it as one of my rarer 5/10s. But, let's get into the rubric and see what else is going on. 

1. Acting 

This being mostly a psychological thriller means that its acting will be one of the more important pieces. Leading the charge is Richard Gere in a 'against type' role for him as the main antagonist of the film. Gere does excellent work making Officer Dennis Peck a real piece of shit. He is a dirty cop that is arguably a sociopath willing to do anything to get his way. Gere plays Peck with just the right amount of smiling charm that all of his terrible actions seem all the worse when he does them. And he does some dark shit over the runtime. 

Playing his main foil is Andy Garcia as Officer Raymond Avilla. Raymond is presented at first as a straight lace, very smart and driven IAD officer. However, this is also where the film takes a slight down turn in quality. Garcia is a very talented actor, but his performance (and mostly the script) feel very uneven and almost manic at times. There are very odd and almost awkward pauses where Raymond just stares at other actors or the dialog is just, not great. Nevertheless, Garcia does just enough with the role to keep Raymond somewhat likable and I enjoyed his willingness to go darker and darker with the role as the main characters continuously clash during the movie. 

The rest of the cast is fine. The script, and thereby the performances, veers almost into soapy multiple times which was off putting. But, there are some bright spots including Laurie Metcalf as Raymond's IA partner. Honestly, her performance is probably what keeps Garcia's just on the right side of 'ok' due to her effort and consistency. 

2. Cinematography 

I don't recall anything in particular for cinematography that stood out. By today's standards it felt pretty generic visually.  

3. Production/Costume Design 

Much like cinematography it feels pretty generic but may just be a product of its time.  

4. Writing 

 The writing for the film isn't too bad. I like the central conflict and its willingness to go to some dark places and really lean into its R-rating. On the other hand, tonally the film is, at a minimum, not my cup of tea. The almost psychosexual underpinning is weird at times and as I mentioned before - some of the scenes would get a fair bit of scrutiny through a more modern lens. 

As far as characters, Gere really does a lot of work carrying the script with his performance. Outside of that, the film's themes and ideas of masculinity and infidelity are really weird. And the supporting roles of the women were odd. I don't understand their characters much, nor do I completely get Gere's hold over them. They are mostly props and targets for male dysfunction.

Plot wise, the cat and mouse antics were decent between the two leads. And the parallels between the character's egomania and obsessive drives shows that there is a more thoughtful film buried in there somewhere.  

5. Sound Design

Nothing in particular stood out 

 6. Editing

At 115 minutes, the film's length is fine. The edit seems to suffers from some moments that linger for too long. I think there is some minor fat to trim here and there, but the end product is comprehensible.  

7. Visual Effects

Seemingly all of the effects were practical and focused mostly on the few bits of stunt work with squibs and other injury related effects. Again nothing really stood out as particularly good or bad here.  

 8. Originality or Strength of Adaptation

I'm likely missing a great deal of context in terms of the time the movie got made in. If I had to guess, it's certainly one of the more adult movies of that time. But, I can't fully speak to its originality. I would say it's a bit ahead of it's time in terms of recognizing some issues with policing that society would spend the next 30 years becoming educated on. 

 9. Stunt Coordination

 Seems on par with the stunt work of the time. 

 10. Direction

Mike Figgis seems to accomplish some of the things this film set out to do. It's not for me, but nothing stands out as incompetent. 

 Legacy/Final Thoughts

It's hard to say exactly where this film lands in terms of legacy. It seems to have been fairly well received critically at its release and helped boost Gere's bankability after a bit of a slump in the late 80s. Otherwise, I haven't heard much about this film before it popping up in the randomizer. Very unlikely to revisit this ever again.