‘Deep Cover’ Review: Improvise to Survive
With a trio of impeccable actors, Tom Kingsley gives life to what looked like an otherwise dull piece of content in Deep Cover.
There’s a world where a film like Deep Cover (not to be confused with the Bill Duke-directed title of the same name starring Laurence Fishburne and Jeff Goldblum) doesn’t work. And that world is wholly reliant on the trio of actors director Tom Kingsley chose for his film, about a group of improv comedians (played by Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom, and Nick Mohammed) who get hired by a police officer (Sean Bean) to infiltrate a drug gang. Without the rock-solid chemistry Dallas Howard, Bloom, and Mohammed have, the film falls completely flat on its own shoulders, and that’s an inextricable fact.
The script, written by Colin Trevorrow (his best since Safety Not Guaranteed), Derek Connolly, Ben Ashenden, and Alexander Owen, does not do anything different than most comedies of this nature do, especially in how it treads in the exact same beats that many “undercover” or “disguise” comedies thrive in. However, what makes this movie so memorable only has to do with the amount of rapport the three leads have with each other, always responding with themselves whenever the situation requires it, making what could’ve otherwise been another forgettable direct-to-streaming piece of content into a surprisingly memorable blast.
Consider the scene where Kat (Dallas Howard), Marlon (Bloom), and Hugh (Mohammed) meet Fly (Paddy Considine, in his second mob-related performance after Guy Ritchie’s MobLand earlier this year), the leader of the criminal operation. The three present themselves as known drug dealers, with Fly immediately buying into their notoriety. Hugh, who has never touched an illicit substance in his life, is forced to snort cocaine to verify the legitimacy of the product. The punchline is easily predictable, but how Mohammed keeps the laughs rolling even after it has passed its expiry date is more than commendable.
It’s exactly why the movie works – each actor has different skillsets (Bloom, in particular, is mostly known for his blockbuster roles in Pirates of the Caribbean and The Lord of the Rings), but they are all comedically trained. Dallas Howard tried to showcase them in Matthew Vaughn’s repellent Argylle, but no actor could’ve done any better with such a horrendous screenplay. Here, though, she possesses note-perfect timing and an absolutely dynamic sense of chemistry with her fellow co-leads. Mohammed may be the most seasoned of the bunch, and thrives in situations where he has to express himself further than his introverted skills, but it’s Bloom who steals the show as a commercial actor destined for greatness, and always going to immense lengths to immerse himself in the subject he’s playing.
When he eventually goes full method in his “performance,” and does something not even Jared Leto would do (though some may argue he would), Kingsley has fun in pushing the actor to extremes that he usually doesn’t go to. This creates an effective, well-rounded protagonist whom the audience can easily latch onto, as they get deeper into a rabbit hole of improvisation than the simple conceit would’ve kept them safe.
It’s a film that thrives more on performance than anything else, even if cinematographer Will Hanke gives tangible texture to his surprisingly well-lit and emulsified photography. It’s such a joy to see this trio play within various situations and utilize improvisational skills to get out of their predicament, because acting is, after all, playing, and when you’re quick on your feet, the results are usually more entertaining than “sticking to the script.” It makes their performances pop off the screen, with Considine and Ian McShane adding a much-needed dose of dark absurdity as the film’s primary antagonists.
McShane, in particular, lights up the frame and revels in his scene-chewing madness whenever he’s on screen, making him a formidable foe that the improv comedians must eventually take down. Their alchemy works so well that it doesn’t matter if the unimaginatively constructed climax isn’t up to snuff – we ultimately got what we wanted out of a direct-to-streaming movie like this one, and that seems more than enough.
It may seem hypocritical to say this after I’ve derided the critical sentence “it did what it set out to do” in my review for The Phoenician Scheme on this website. But my expectations were so low that I came out of it pleasantly surprised by how fun each actor had in their respective roles, and how the plot kept moving thanks to their dynamic. It is because of them that Deep Cover becomes a commendable effort that executes a simple premise brilliantly, even though Bill Duke’s film will always be the best one with that title.