Ten-Year Itch: Uncover 'Deep Cover'

Ten-Year Itch is a weekly column which focuses on a film or album at least 10 years old deserving of a second look.

Laurence Fishburne might the star on TV’s most popular show right now, but he got his first leading role when he was still known simply as Larry.

In 1992’s “Deep Cover,” Fishburne plays a straightforward police officer that is recruited by a drug enforcement agency to infiltrate a drug smuggling organization.

This plot sounds like a hundred other films, but throw in Jeff Goldblum and intense moral dilemmas and you have got something special.

Fishburne’s character, Russell Stevens, takes on the alias of John Hull as he goes undercover. As he moves his way up the ranks of the smuggling organization he is bombarded with ethical situations about what is in the realm of his role as police officer.

Is it OK to commit a murder if he is doing it as John Hull? Is bumping rails acceptable if it keeps his cover? These are a few of the questions that come into play as Fishburne wonderfully toes the line between staying on task and actually becoming a rising star in the drug industry.

Another facet setting this thriller apart from its contemporaries is Fishburne’s narration of the film. The voice over adds a noir-like aspect to the film, giving it depth and greater insight into the struggles going on with Fishburne’s character.

Goldblum expertly parallels the seriousness and overall intensity of Fishburne’s performance. He is as dry and witty as ever playing the drug organization’s lawyer. The film also gives the actor a chance to amp up his usual low-key self as his character gets in deeper than he can handle in the drug game. During a violent chase scene, Goldblum is wryly making dinner plans as destruction is happening around him.

The film’s tone is dark. Its city is rainy, with black and red being the landscape’s limited palette. The setting only adds to the modern-noir flourishes touched upon by director Bill Duke.

Fishburne has had a storied career but this is one role that always seems to get left off his greatest hits list; a severe shame since his performance and the film is superlative-crime film fare.

Luke McCormick can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 275 or lmccorm2@siu.edu