Deep Cover (1992) dir. Bill Duke
We start off a little goofier than expected. That 90s “do the right thing” goofy. Its a bit jarring at first; the tone doesnt quite fit in the idea of the movie youve made prior to pressing play. But it grows on you quickly.
This one has The Swag: Soundtrack, rich colors, cool wardrobe (Larry frame game poppin it), set design, BETTY! Victoria Dillard is Painful. Her voice is that jazzy smooth black voice of old that seems extinct today. Whered it go? We need to bring that back; a voice you want reading you a bedtime story! The signature syncopated zoom ins and zoom outs, the Larry deep voice looming like a disappointed God of his own life narration, the silhouette shadow heavy almost Rembrantesque at times lighting, and the use of blue light on Black faces (fuck what Beyonce talking about and Hype i know you was biting they swag wit Belly Im onto u), This embodies Cool. We got the good ratio with Cheesy as well which make said Cheese actually Cool! And we got the Sexy! And not just in the steamy sex scene between fishbourne and dillard but throughout: the eye candy this film is, it could get sensual! One of those movies that is just Stills galore for all the cinema screengrabbing archive instagram pages or film twitter profiles.
Its a time machine to the 90s. Sidebar: we’re so scratch and itch addicted to Nostalgia our kids and kids’ kids wont have any 2020s time capsules, just fuzzily drawn replicas of another period from a people fantasizing about a past long gone, that they didnt even witness with their own 2. But Hey! Eat off the funk faked highlight centered lies that can(!!) be our collective memory! Certain shit cant be mimicked earnestly: Larry with the sassy walk down deep V neck with the chest whiskers out. Our redos tend to get Costume! Lets capture more of our own time! Right? Should I get off my soapbox?
No! Cause all the beauty on the surface comes with complexities underneath in this 1. Though its a COP movie it has some flashes of anticopaganda. The structure allows for this almost midlife crisis of a midpoint? The puny policeman is woken up from his grandiose dreams of “saving the block” by the badge with the Manhandle of corruption as he is squeezed out of his mission by faceless forces above him for their own power hungry agendas. His work, which he crossed many of his own moral lines in the sand in the name of, is rendered futile, now just cementing a loaded die of a system and helping carry out more of its many atrocities. In the face of this realization, he goes rogue and thats when it gets really Fun. It doesnt get all the way there but almost! Our converts rebel spirit is turned down by a religiously psychosed pig lol. After all once a cop always a cop it’s an infection of the Brain. Word to da DSM. But nough soft spoiling watch for yadelf. Leaves us with some cynical half baked food for thought to chew on. But still I go
4.5/5 escape
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