MovieChat Forums > Internal Affairs (1990) Discussion > Dark masterpiece

Dark masterpiece

posted 11 years ago by NormanCroucher
6 replies | jump to latest

When I first saw this movie I didn't like it.

I caught it again about four or five years later when I was older and it struck me just how disturbing, intense and brooding this movie was.

In fact, I clicked on to what Figgis and co were trying to do. Retell the Shakespearean story of Othello. Garcia as Othello and Gere as Iago. The duel of egos, the dark sexual subtext, the struggle for power between alpha males, the adult melodrama of decaying relationships.

It truly is an overlooked masterpiece in my opinion. One of the best American cop movies from the 90's along with LA Confidential and Heat.

Watching films multiple times and trying them again when you're much older helps to change your perspective and reassess your position.

[–] famousmortimer-2 11 years ago

Agreed. Rediscovered this dark masterpiece a few years ago when it started making the rounds on cable again. Whereas when I first saw it I didn't appreciate all the mind games at work and just thought of it as this somewhat artsy dirty cop movie, this time around Richard Gere really scared me. His Dennis Peck is this force of darkness capable of corrupting anyone by subtly needling their weaknesses. That kind of evil is very real in the world. Real because it is next to impossible to expose. Always a step ahead. Always working the scenario. Always above reproach.

[–] residentevil6901 9 years ago

I liked it when I first saw it and watched it many times throughout the 90's. Didn't watch it for a long time until today and I forgot how much I liked it. I think it's a great show, I feel the same way about Black Rain.

[–] SCY385-1 8 years ago

I thought this was a brilliant movie 26 years ago when I saw it in the theaters. It was sold as being more action packed than it actually was. It's more of a psychological thriller than anything. But it is a very dark and scary look at complex characters who do the things that are right and wrong. Raymond and Dennis were flip sides of the same coin. One was doing the right thing and the other one wasn't. They both had their reasons, but they got under each other's skin because they were basically very similar people. You see this complexity because of the brilliant writing. There are not straight lines, or plain black and white. There is a whole lot of shades of grey and that is Internal Affairs brilliance. By the end of the movie you see these characters in a different light. Yes, there is a bad guy and a good guy, but you see them not as traditional one dimentional characters. You see them as people who have chosen to do the right thing or the wrong thing for reasons all their own.

[–] BoSoxRules 8 years ago

Well said, SCY. Great movie.

[–] MikeCable (1859) 8 years ago

I love this film and it is my favourite Richard Gere film. I was about 12 when I saw it at the cinema and it left a lasting appreciation of corrupt cop films.

The one thing I always wished this film had was an instrumental soundtrack available which included that incredibly emotional synthesizer piece from the nightclub dream sequence and a proper long car chase.

[–] DiggoryVenn (89) 8 years ago

Haven't logged on in a while, but, yeah, Internal Affairs is scary and dark and hands-down one of the best films of the decade. When the death of the unexpected-to-die character occurs near the end, it gets even darker. One word: condom :)