In Too Deep
USA 1999
Reviewed by Danny Leigh
Synopsis
Our synopses give away the plot in full, including surprise twists.
Chicago, the present. Detective Jeff Cole instructs a class of police cadets in the art of undercover work. Two years earlier, in Cincinnati, Cole approaches senior officer Preston D'Ambrosio and asks to join his undercover task force. Involved in the arrest of a Latino cocaine dealer, Cole is dispatched to infiltrate the latest operation of crime boss Dwayne Gittens, also known as God. Cole adopts a new identity as J. Reid and ingratiates himself with Gittens. After a gunfight with a pair of young criminals, Cole is pulled from his assignment by D'Ambrosio and sent to the country for a period of recuperation. There, he meets Myra, a dancer with whom he begins a relationship.
Summoned to Cincinnati by D'Ambrosio, Cole again assumes the identity of J. Reid, rapidly becoming Gittens' right-hand man. His dealings with both Myra and his senior officers suffer as a result of his adopted criminal pose. During an argument with Myra, Cole is arrested by the local police. A confrontation ensues, but D'Ambrosio allows his charge one last chance to seal Gittens' arrest. Cole accompanies Gittens to a cocaine deal, where the latter is finally captured. Cole testifies at Gittens' trial; the crime boss is sentenced to life imprisonment. Cole reunites with Myra. The pair leave for Chicago.
Review
Right down to its title, the memory of Bill Duke's 1992 thriller Deep Cover hangs over In Too Deep like a trace of cheap cologne. Yet, despite having lifted that film's premise - black cop gets seduced by criminal life while undercover - director Michael Rymer clearly has higher aspirations than the slick, glitzy tropes of Duke's film. It's something like the complexity of Mike Newell's Donnie Brasco, notably the insight into the moral confusion suffered by a cop while working undercover, that Rymer is after.
It's an ambition that seems some way beyond the slender resources of Rymer, his script or most of his cast. The comparison In Too Deep invites so explicitly could only ever be to its detriment - for a film in which ambivalence and ambiguity are such central themes, it displays no appreciation of either (Newell's project had both in spades). While in Donnie Brasco FBI agent Joe Pistone's turmoil was exquisitely captured by Johnny Depp, here Omar Epps relies largely on changes to his hairstyle to portray the disorientation his character Jeff Cole experiences when going undercover (neatly trimmed dreadlocks as a cop; shaven head while playing the gangster).
Equally, despite briefly giving the character of crime boss Dwayne Gittens a speech in which he holds forth with some eloquence on the nature of poverty, the script loses the courage of such equivocal convictions at the very point where they might have rescued the film. Instead, we have to be shown an expedient litany of scenes in which Gittens tortures his acolytes and abuses various crackheads. Of course, these thumpingly obvious reminders that Gittens is a real bad guy make it much simpler for Rymer to dispense his easy, upbeat resolution: again look for the desperate poignancy of Donnie Brasco's ending, with the broken, betrayed gangster played by Al Pacino preparing for his mob execution, and you'll be searching in vain.
But, while this lack of subtlety compromises In Too Deep, its aura of made-for-television prosaicness also fatally diminishes it (in true film-of-the-week fashion, the pre-credits declare: "This is based on a true story"). Certainly, Rymer and director of photography Ellery Ryan handles the look of the film competently enough and the script's narrative is free of glaring logical flaws. But Rymer seems unable to work up any degree of tension or, more to the point, believability. If someone as blatantly hokey as Jeff Cole can get past a feared underworld boss like Dwayne Gittens, it's a wonder there are any criminals left.
It should therefore come as no surprise that none of the cast is at all convincing. Ironically, with Epps' prissy cop playing a double role and LL Cool J's parodic bogeyman at its centre, In Too Deep ultimately brings to mind Robert Townsend's engaging film-industry satire Hollywood Shuffle. Watching Epps implausibly vowing to "keep it real, nigga," you can't help thinking of Townsend's cry after his casting as yet another African-American superfly streetsmart criminal: "Hey, there's always work at the post office."
Credits
- Director
- Michael Rymer
- Producers
- Paul Aaron
- Michael Henry Brown
- Screenplay
- Michael Henry Brown
- Paul Aaron
- Director of Photography
- Ellery Ryan
- Editor
- Dany Cooper
- Production Designer
- Dan Leigh
- Music
- Christopher Young
- ©Miramax Film Corp.
- Production Companies
- Dimension Films presents a Suntaur Entertainment Company production
- Executive Producers
- Don Carmody
- Bob Weinstein
- Harvey Weinstein
- Jeremy Kramer
- Amy Slotnick
- Line Producer
- Additional Photography:
- Elaine Dysinger
- Production Supervisor
- Liz Amsden
- Production Co-ordinators
- Vair McPhee
- Cincinnati Crew:
- Sherman Weatherby
- Additional Photography Co-ordinator
- Page Rosenberg-Marvin
- Production Manager
- Joyce Kozy King
- Unit Production Manager
- Additional Photography:
- Elaine Dysinger
- Location Managers
- Toronto:
- Byron Martin
- Cincinnati Crew:
- Deirdre Costa
- Additional Photography:
- Wally Uchida
- John Grant
- Post-production Supervisor
- Gregor Hutchison
- Production Consultant
- Cincinnati Crew:
- Richard Jefferson
- Assistant Directors
- Bill Spahic
- Walter Gasparovic
- Rose Tedesco
- Stewart Young
- Jonnie Katz
- Cincinnati Crew:
- Kent A. Smith
- Additional Photography:
- Marlon Smith
- Robert Ohlandt
- Script Continuity
- Joanne Tolley-Harwood
- Additional Photography:
- Jacqui Clay
- Casting
- Aisha Coley
- Toronto:
- Ross Clydesdale
- Cincinnati Local:
- Lyle Dickey
- Anna S. Park
- Additional Photography:
- Robin Ray
- Camera Operators
- Harold Ortenburger
- Cincinnati Crew:
- Gregory Bubb
- Additional Photography:
- Rex Nicholson
- Steadicam
- Operator:
- Tim Merkel
- Additional Photography:
- Dave Emmerichs
- Special Effects
- Co-ordinator:
- Michael Kavanagh
- Cincinnati Crew, Key:
- John MacGillivray
- Cincinnati Crew:
- John D. Jay
- Additional Photography:
- Joshua Pinney
- Art Director
- Kenneth Watkins
- Set Decorator
- Sean Kirby
- Set Decorators
- Lead:
- Ken Clark
- Additional Photography:
- Mary Gullickson
- Key Scenic Artist
- Rosanna DeCampo
- Costume Designer
- Shawn Barton
- Wardrobe Supervisor
- Cincinnati Crew:
- Robin Fields
- Make-up
- Key:
- Mario Cacioppo
- Cincinnati Crew, Artists:
- Paris R. Clayton Brown
- Thomas A. Venditelli
- Additional Photography, Artist:
- Carol Brown
- Prosthetics Design
- Gordon Smith
- Key Hair
- Reeve Cuerrier
- Hair Stylists
- Cincinnati Crew:
- Anne Taylor
- Additional Photography:
- Mishel Chandler
- Main Titles Sequence Design
- Dan Perri
- Main Titles Digital Effects
- Digiscope
- End Titles
- Blue Motel Title Design
- Opticals
- Film Effects
- Orchestra Conductor
- Pete Anthony
- Orchestrations
- Pete Anthony
- Jon Kull
- Christopher Young
- Music Supervisor
- Frank Fitzpatrick
- Scoring Co-ordinators
- David Reynolds
- Konstantinos Christides
- Sujin Nam
- Jasper Randall
- Executive Music Producers
- Randy Spendlove
- Frank Fitzpatrick
- Supervising Music Editor
- Charles Martin Inouye
- Music Editors
- Tanya Noel Hill
- Michael T. Ryan
- Synthesizer Programming
- Kenneth Burgomaster
- Arthur Schaer
- Score Engineer/Mixer
- Michael Farrow
- Soundtrack
- "Quiet Storm (remix)" - Mobb Deep featuring Lil' Kim; "In Too Deep" - Nas & Nature; "The Specialist" - Ali Vegas; "Used to Me Spending" - R. Kelly (featuring Nokio and Jaz-Ming); "El Presso" - Fruko y sus tesos; "Descargo de hoy" - Cubanismo!; "El estuche" - Ateretopelados; "Thug Money" - Trick Daddy; "Bleeding from the Mouth" - Capone-N-Noreaga and The Lox; "Tear It Off" - Method Man & Redman; "Getto Jam" - Domino; "Somethin' about Love" - Imajin; "How to Rob", "Rowdy Rowdy" - 50 Cent; "Dub Murderer" - E-Day; "I Thought about You" - Miles Davis; "Dreamin'" - Jill Scott; "Unconventional Ways" - The JazzyFatNastees; "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" - Donny Hathaway; "Keys to the Range" - Jagged Edge (featuring Jermaine Dupri); "Bust a Nut" - The product G&B featuring Marie Antoinette; "Ebony Child" - Mitchel Forman; "Give Me a Reason" - Dave Hollister; "Where Ya Heart At" - Mobb Deep
- Additional Sound Design
- Randy Thom
- Sound Mixers
- Tom Mather
- Additional Photography:
- Ben Patrick
- Re-recording Mixers
- Lora Hirschberg
- Mark Berger
- Additional:
- Gary Rizzo
- Kent Sparling
- Daniel Pellerin
- Andy Koyama
- Todd Beckett
- Supervising Sound Editors
- Andrew Plain
- Jane Tattersall
- Additional:
- Robert Shoup
- Dialogue Supervisor
- Garrett Kerr
- Dialogue Editors
- Wayne Swingle
- Fred Brennan
- Richard Cadger
- David Drainie Taylor
- Stephen Barden
- Janice Ierulli
- Sean Kelly
- Sound Effects Editors
- David McCallum
- Roderick Deogrades
- ADR
- Loop Group:
- L.A. MadDogs
- Studios:
- Post Sound Corporation
- Kris Campbell
- John 'JK' Kestler
- Steve Jaszkowiak
- Howard Schwartz Recording
- Bill Higley
- Fernando Ascan
- Foley
- Artists:
- Andy Malcolm
- Goro Koyama
- Recordist:
- Ron Mellegers
- Stunt Co-ordinator
- Steve Lucescu
- Weapons Co-ordinator
- Charles Taylor
- Cast
- Omar Epps
- Jeff Cole/J. Reid
- LL Cool J
- Dwayne Gittens {'God'}
- Nia Long
- Myra
- Stanley Tucci
- Preston D'Ambrosio
- Hill Harper
- Breezy T
- Jake Weber
- Daniel Connelly
- Richard Brooks
- Wesley
- David Patrick Kelly
- Rick Scott
- Pam Grier
- Detective Angela Wilson
- Veronica Webb
- Pam
- Ron Canada
- Doctor Bratton
- Nas
- rapper
- Robert LaSardo
- Felipe Batista
- Gano Grills
- Frisco
- Ivonne Coll
- Mrs Batista
- Don Harvey
- Murphy
- Jermaine Dupri
- Melvin
- Lloyd Adams
- Ray-Ray
- Philip Akin
- minister
- Anna Alvim
- Esperanta Batista
- Karina Arroyave
- G.G.
- Richard Blackburn
- officer 1
- Kevin Chapman
- O'Hanlon
- Chris Collins
- lookout
- Shane Daly
- Batista cop 1
- Brenda Thomas Denmark
- Mrs Coy
- Guillermo Diaz
- Miguel Batista
- Aunjanue Ellis
- Denise
- Dolores Etienne
- grandmother
- Sticky Fingaz
- Ozzie
- Wendii Fulford
- Mrs Connelly
- Brian Furlong
- Batista cop 2
- Catherine Goudier
- Mrs D'Ambrosio
- Jackie Hargrave
- Mrs Johnson
- Edward Heeley
- professor
- Howard Hoover
- officer 2
- Tatum Hunter
- Connelly, aged 4
- Camille James
- Doreen
- Claire Johnson
- Connelly, aged 2
- Hassan Iniko Johnson
- Latique
- Dustin Leonard
- Marcus, aged 8
- Jordan Leonard
- Marcus, aged 3
- Latoya Lesmond
- female cadet
- Yvette Martin
- Lisa
- Michi Mi
- Martha
- Mya
- Loretta
- Toby Proctor
- red-haired cadet
- Alex Restrepo
- dancer
- Victor Rivers
- Romeo Concepcion
- Shyheim
- Che
- Stephen Graham Simpson
- cop 2
- David Spates
- K. Dee
- Lenore Thomas
- Angie
- Angel Torres
- Ramon
- Katherine Trowell
- judge
- Avery Kidd Waddell
- Gashman
- Certificate
- 18
- Distributor
- Metrodome Distribution Ltd
- 8,725 feet
- 96 minutes 57 seconds
- Dolby Digital/SDDS
- Colour by
- DeLuxe
- Super 35 [2.35:1]