The film goes completely off the rails in the third act, which is a shame considering it actually offered really interestingly drawn and multi-layered characters. Also, one of Gere's most compelling performances.
Mike Figgis takes what could have been a rather conventional Hollywood cop thriller and teases out the erotic and perverse themes. On the basis of this movie one would assume that Richard Gere was a great actor and one would be wrong. Gere was gifted this role and he rises to the occasion with a performance of kinky relish. Andy Garcia, Nancy Travis, a Baldwin and a magnificent Laurie Metcalf match Gere. Great fun.
The most interesting aspect of this film was Gere's ability to be a really evil bastard coupled with a seemingly stable home life (albeit figuratively incestuous amid ex-wives...something I think should've had deeper focus). After a bit though the film's insistance on plot development in a rather typical fashion really blots out possibilities for something far more interesting and possibly more insightful to pop up.
