Deep Cover (1992) New Line/Action-Thriller RT: 107 minutes Rated R (strong violence, pervasive drug use, language throughout, sensuality, brief nudity) Director: Bill Duke Screenplay: Michael Tolkin and Henry Bean Music: Michel Colombier Cinematography: Bojan Bazelli Release date: April 15, 1992 (US) Cast: Laurence Fishburne (credited as “Larry Fishburne”), Jeff Goldblum, Victoria Dillard, Gregory Sierra, Clarence Williams III, Rene Asa, Alex Colon, Roger Guenveur Smith, Sydney Lassick, Kamala Lopez, Julio Oscar Mechoso, Glynn Turman, James T. Morris, Sandra Gould, Lira Angel, James Ferro, Charles Martin Smith. Box Office: $16.6M (US)
Rating: *** ½
The crime thriller Deep Cover perfectly represents what I call a “Hidden Treasure”, a great movie that most people have never heard of or forgot existed. I can’t remember the last time I heard it brought up in conversation. I can’t even remember anybody talking about it when it came out in spring ’92. I went to see it opening weekend and loved it. It’s not so much a cop actioner than it is urban noir replete with voiceover by the film’s morally conflicted protagonist.
The “hero” of Deep Cover is Russell Stevens Jr. (Fishburne, Boyz n the Hood), a Cincinnati cop recruited by the DEA to go undercover in L.A. in order to bring down a major drug ring. A little context, 10YO Russell witnessed his drug addict father (Turman, Cooley High) get shot to death after holding up a liquor store. It made him want to live the straight life. He lives by a rigid moral code. He’s never done drugs or even had a drink. He’s not sure he wants the assignment, but his handler Agent Carver (Smith, The Untouchables) assures him he’s ideally suited for it because his psychological profile indicates he’s more like a criminal than he’d care to admit.
He hits the streets of L.A. as a low-level dealer named John Hull. In order to get to the top guys, he gets close to David Jason (Goldblum, The Fly), a lawyer and mid-level drug trafficker who has close ties to Felix Barbosa (Sierra, Barney Miller), the underboss to Anton Gallegos (Mendoza), the top guy who’s protected by his uncle, a corrupt South American politician. David is an ambitious sort. He wants to strike out on his own selling a potent synthetic designer drug that’s cheap to make, terminating their dealings with the South Americans in the process.
Getting in with these guys means Russell will have to make compromises, morally speaking. He will agonize over each and every one. Carver is no help. He keeps telling him it’s the job, just do it. In the course of his assignment, he becomes fond of Betty (Dillard, Ricochet), an art dealer who launders money for David with whom she’s also sleeping.
Directed by Bill Duke (A Rage in Harlem), Deep Cover is a gritty piece that takes us into a dark underbelly that exists within our own world. It’s a place of drugs, violence, poverty and despair. It’s a place where a young mother offers to sell her son to fund her drug habit. Russell must navigate this hellish world as he struggles with his own moral code, trying hard to justify actions that go against it. At one point, he finds himself forced to kill another dealer. If he doesn’t, he’ll lose face on the streets. If he does, he’s breaking the law he swore to uphold. It’s a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation. Duke shows us this world in a raw and uncompromising fashion, never once trying to whitewash it or provide his characters an easy way out of any given situation.
As Russell/John, Fishburne delivers an amazing performance. I’d even say it’s one of the best he’s ever given. One of the actor’s strongest assets is his deep, rich voice. He has excellent diction and always speaks eloquently. His voiceover is pure poetry at times. In addition, he has this natural intensity that makes him a perfect choice to play complex characters working their way through moral quandaries. He invites us into his labyrinthine psychology by way of his brilliantly written voiceover. He’s not just talking to hear himself talk either. Every word is deliberate and meaningful. He really is an incredible actor.
Goldblum might not seem like the right type to play a bad guy, but he totally nails it in Deep Cover. His character David starts off as a mild-mannered wannabe who wants to run with the big dogs even though he’s clearly in over his head. Plus, they don’t respect him. His transition to cold-blooded killer is chilling and absolutely believable. Here’s a guy who thinks he can just switch it on and off, that he can be a big-time criminal and a respectable family man. In one scene, he says, “I want my cake and eat it too.” It’s truly frightening when you realize he means it.
Smith is wonderfully weaselly as the DEA agent with an agenda. He wants to bring down the right people until it no longer serves his own best interests. Yes, political BS factors into the equation as it so often does in these situations. Clarence Williams III (52 Pick-Up) is brilliant as an L.A. cop often referred to as “Reverend” due to his religious convictions. He serves as the voice of reason, showing up at just the right time to remind Russell to do the right thing. Sierra does a decent job as Barbosa, projecting a sense of quiet menace until he finds himself on the wrong end of a gun. Roger Guenveur Smith (Tales from the Hood) camps it up as a gay back-stabbing dealer.
Deep Cover benefits from a great rap soundtrack and cinematography (by John Carter) depicting the grim neon-lit underworld occupied by low-lifes and addicts. Although not really an action movie, it does have a good car chase during which Goldblum’s character finally goes full tilt boogie gangsta. Mostly, it’s a noirish thriller about a man tapping into what might be his true nature. Was Russell ever really into being a cop? Has he been fronting all this time? The movie even ends on an ambiguous note with a final question aimed at the audience. Deep Cover is powerful stuff. This is one 90s movie that absolutely deserves to be rediscovered.
