It’s not poe-faced or boring, but the absence of irony and pop culture references that are now commonplace make this feel more earnest. It’s an altogether drier, yet more innocent kind of film, but this is part of its charm. This is the kind of straitlaced modern gangster drama that just isn’t possible in a post-Tarantino world. Williams is the hardline christian cop who tries to get Fishburne on the straight and narrow, and manages to imbue this quite strange character with real warmth and humanity. Smith plays the abrasive DEA agent with just the right amount of cockiness and sleaze, and the dynamic between him and Fishburne is really compelling – Duke uses Smith’s diminutive height for some fun framing – Fishburne towers over him, yet Smith holds all the power. A lot of this is due to the freewheeling nature of the film – he and Fishburne improvised a lot, which leads to some dynamic back and forth but also impacts the characterisation.Ĭharles Martin Smith and Clarence Williams III are also memorable as the two other representatives of law enforcement. ![]() Being Goldblum he is always entertaining, (and disarmingly likeable) but his characterisation is so inconsistent that the final showdown proves pretty frustrating. He’s initially slick and professional, but as the plot escalates he changes into a more erratic, sinister character that never completely fits. His internal conflict is writ large on his face in his private moments, and he has an easy chemistry with Goldblum. He’s incredible here, giving an intense, raw performance as the conflicted undercover cop. Nowadays, Fishburne has so completely reinvented himself as an elder statesman of cinema, that it’s easy to forget he could be a formidable leading man. Laurence Fishburne gives a powerhouse performance as Stevens, a cop recruited by the DEA for an undercover assignment in the midst of big time drug dealers, making contact with Jeff Goldblum‘s smooth talking lawyer, who moonlights as the go-between for the cartel. However, Deep Cover is more than just a way to jump on a bandwagon. The film was originally conceived as a sequel to Mike Figgis’ Internal Affairs, but repurposed after the rise in popularity of black cinema in the early nineties, with films like New Jack City and Boyz N The Hood grabbing the attention of cinema audiences. He’s had an impressive career as a director too though, making accomplished thrillers Hoodlum and A Rage In Harlem, and his best film, the neo-noir Deep Cover. He played the chillingly badass Mac in Predator, and made an impression with supporting roles in Commando, The Limey and more recently Mandy. However, Deep Cover ends up being a film with roots of American cinema’s past that uses its darkness to paint a bleak picture of its present and future unlike anything before or since.ĭeep Cover is currently streaming on Cinemax’s streaming platform, MAX GO.Bill Duke is probably best known as an actor, even if you don’t know him by name. Carl Franklin, 1995) to wade into the waters of the noir as it relates to the black experience. Pakula, 1974) while also giving a platform for other films like Devil in a Blue Dress (dir. It increases the scope of political issues in film originated by works like The Parallax View (dir. Deep Cover shows the capability of neo-noir to be a vehicle for something with gigantic political aspirations. He uses the hardboiled narration and unflinching violent crime of the genre to create a fatalist film about the path America is heading down and how the misery of people of color is just another tool to maintain wealth and power. While the noir genre portrayed the pessimism of the postwar era as a whole, Duke zeros his focus and frames his neo-noir film on the growing weariness that poor communities of color would face in the midst of the Reagan Administration’s War on Drugs. ![]() ![]() The fact that Deep Cover cribs from noir is no accident.
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