I don't know if adding a bunch of colored gels saves an interrogation scene from being cliche'. Do the lights and their colors have a purpose? Is there motivation for them? Or are they used simply to look cool and arty? Unfortunately, the latter scenario is more cliche' than any well written, well shot and well acted interrogation scene will ever be.
Definitely seeing a clip of the scene would help us decide what we think.
All that being said, it does look cool. I'm always a sucker for highly saturated colors ala Douglas Sirk, Fassbinder, Percy Aldon, et al.
the thing is that it is an interrogation scene...it's not a bout cliche. it's about "realistic portrayal"...i mean if it was in a club and somebody was getting a beat-down then i can understand the wonderful colors, but if it's a police interrogation...i don't think they watch HGTV
Quite simply put, it was to make it look cool. But, since the film is based on cliched 80's cop films we decided to stay away from cliched camera work, hence the difference in the interogation. The colors are meant as a contrast in ideology. The red: a suspected communist being investigated for aiding the Soviet Union for the placement of a nuclear weapon in Salt Lake City in 1989. The blue: Well, the two American detectives.
Totally respect the attempt at a "different" and artistic approach to the interrogation. I think that the choice will detract from your overall project, making the interrogation of whatever he's being questioned about seem light-hearted and unrealistic.
Cliche is cliche for a reason: it works. Some things you can avoid, other cliche's you benefit from merely writing great dialogue and leaving the visuals as to what one would suspect; doing minor tweaks to lighting for artist tastes.
Then again, I'm just looking at a still. Give us moving footage if you want more in-depth opinions on why or why not this may or may not have worked for any of us.