Deep Cover

Deep Cover (1992)

Runtime: 107 minutes

Directed by: Bill Duke

Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Jeff Goldblum, Victoria Dillard, Gregory Sierra, Clarence Williams, III

From: New Line Cinema

Yet another film that should have been watched around the holiday season. This solely is due to the intense opening scene, where we view Laurence Fishburne’s character as a kid one night; his father is a junkie who meets a gruesome end. Unlike little Billy in Silent Night, Deadly Night, he doesn’t grow up to become a mass murderer but instead a cop who wants to clean up the streets.

For awhile now I’ve heard praise of this movie led by actor/director Bill Duke. It sounds crass to say “I should have pulled the trigger much sooner” given Deep Cover’s themes but this proved to be my sort of jam. It was quite the pessimistic, searing look at the War on Drugs where Fishburne is asked to go undercover by scummy DEA agent Charles Martin Smith and he reluctantly agrees. It was a decision he regrets… going against his own moral code, he is forced to commit murder, sell drugs to children, hang out with tremendous sleazeballs, probably the trashiest played by Jeff Goldblum as a jazzed-up lawyer/dealer who is never not outrageous. The worst aspect is him getting to know such people as a drug-addled mom with a young son.

The film is a damning, searing indictment of the War on Drugs; besides how ineffective it is and its impact on minorities (which is implied), there is plenty of hypocrisy from the federal government depending on the circumstances. What a journey Fishburne went on; also, what a cast of actors and characters this had, including a small but hilarious role from Sydney Lassick. My favorite side character was played by Clarence Williams, III as a religious cop; I was wanting more as he only had a few scenes, although that is better than wanting less. 

Flashy direction-without OOT distraction-a soundtrack full of R&B, rap and even reggae (including the Dr. Dre title song, which introduced Snoop Dogg to the world and I’ve known for many years) and a few scenes of visceral violence meant that I’ve slept on the movie for far too long… not to mention the career of Bill Duke as a director. We all know him for his acting in Commando and Predator; much less attention has been paid to him as a director, despite some high-profile movies like this, Hoodlum and… Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit?! It wasn’t until last night that a messageboard discussion told me he directed many episodes of TV shows in the 80’s: everything from 10 episodes of Knots Landings to Falcon Crest, Dallas, MATLOCK, Cagney & Lacey, and even an episode of Miami Vice. Who knew?