In Too Deep film review

certificate_18

IN TOO DEEP

Jeffrey Cole (Omar Epps) is one of Cincinnati's finest undercover detectives who treats his work with the utmost seriousness, infiltrating the ruthless underworld of drug cartels, violence, power and money.

He is a recent graduate of the police academy and has the uncanny ability of making people believe everything he says, spinning a delicate web of lies so convincingly that even he has difficulty sifting fact from fiction. His superior, Captain Preston D'Ambrosio (Stanley Tucci) is impressed with his dedication to the job and his results, but worries that Cole might be immersing himself a little too much in his fictitious personalities.

However, he doesn't think twice about sending the officer undercover to win the trust of notorious crimelord Dwayne Gittens (LL Cool J) who reportedly controls most of the city's crack supply. Gittens is renowned for punishing anyone who dares to cross him, and is wary of outsiders, so Cole is told to approach his assignment with care. No cop has ever managed to get close enough to the target to bring him down - and lived.

Before Cole has a chance to forge links with Gittens, he is injured in a shooting, and immediately retired from duty by D'Ambrosio who places him in a safehouse to rebuild his life. Desperately disappointed not to nail his suspect, Cole takes up photography classes and falls headlong for one of the models, Myra (Nia Long).

However, the lure of the job proves too strong, far outweighing his love for the beautiful Myra, and when he senses an opportunity to weasel his way back into Gittens's inner circle, and hopefully to complete his mission, he refuses to take no for an answer.

Allegedly inspired by true events, In Too Deep is an intelligent if somewhat familiar examination of the life of the undercover cop which rests almost completely on the tour-de-force performances on the two leads.

LL Cool J is arguably the star attraction here, drawing out the contradictions in Gittens's character. He's a sadist who repays disloyalty with torture, and gleefully stabs to death any business associates who dares to talk to the cops behind his back, yet he shows an obvious affection for the people in his neighbourhood, giving out free dinners at holiday time to foster a sense of community (which he is slowly eroding with his drug-dealing).