Narc (2002)

Director:

Joe Carnahan

Writer (WGA):

Joe Carnahan (written by)

Release Date:

10 January 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

When the trail goes cold on a murder investigation of a policeman an undercover narcotics officer is lured back to the force to help solve the case.

Plot Keywords:

Undercover | Murder | Hospital | Loss Of Wife | Shooting Gallery

Awards:

1 win & 8 nominations

Cast

Dan Leis	...	Elvin Dowd
Jason Patric	...	Nick Tellis
Lloyd Adams	...	Walter Dandridge
Meagan Issa	...	Little Girl
Lina Giornofelice	...	Jeanine Mueller (as Lina Felice)
Alan C. Peterson	...	Freeman Franks
Karen Robinson	...	Liz Detmer
Chi McBride	...	Captain Cheevers
Booth Savage	...	Cecil Mitchum
Alan Van Sprang	...	Michael Calvess
Gavyn Donaldson	...	Tellis' Infant Son
Myles Donaldson	...	Tellis' Infant Son
Krista Bridges	...	Audrey Tellis
Ray Liotta	...	Henry Oak
Thomas Patrice	...	Officer Marcotte

Also Known As:

Narco (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong brutal violence, drug content and pervasive language.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (No. 39112) | Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Philippines:R-18 | Netherlands:16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Canada:18A (Canadian Home Video rating) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:18 | Japan:PG-12 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:18 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Detroit, Michigan, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Joe Carnahan had the idea of writing Narc (2002) after he saw the non-fiction crime documentary The Thin Blue Line by Errol Morris.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Lt. Henry Oak is first seen, his jacket is off, revealing his shoulder holster rig. He is carrying a .357 magnum revolver, but the holster rig is made for a semiautomatic. The strap on the side opposite the pistol contains a case for a semiautomatic magazine.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Henry Oak: [crying] Oh, my God, Mike, I'm sorry. Oh, my God, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Nexus Generation: Fans & Filmmakers (2007) (V)

Soundtrack:

Holy

Good, tough and gritty cop film

This film reminded me of those cop films from the late 60's and 70's like "The Seven Ups" and "The French Connection" but this film is really dark and dirty. One thing that stands out is the cinematography that I'll describe later. Film opens with a cop chasing a suspect into a park and when shots are fired at one another a pregnant woman gets hit. Month's later the force wants him back to work with an older cop and investigate a cop killing. Jason Patric and Ray Liotta star in this film and its directed by Joe Carnahan who employs a very good visual style to an already familiar story. The film has a dark and gritty look about it that suggests a touch of "Film Noir". One scene in particular stands out and its the one where Patric and Liotta are in a cafe having coffee and talking. The scene is dimly lit with both characters seemingly in shadows. It suggests that both are shadowy figures and have something to hide. Carnahan creates a dark mood for the film that I found very effective. Nothing seems forced here and it creates an indelible aura of bleakness. These are the streets that these cops work in everyday and you can understand some of the personality flaws of the characters. Ray Liotta stands out here and its the type of performance that reminds us why Scorsese cast him in "Goodfellas" in the first place. He gained 25 pounds for the role and along with Tom Cruise and a host of others helped produce this film. All the hard work paid off and I hope studios remember him with more work. He's always been a terrific actor and its hard to forget those eyes of his when he sinks his teeth into a role like this. They're was some talk of him being nominated for an Academy award in the supporting category which would be wrong. Both he and Patric are in the film about the same amount of time. They are both starring roles and its not a supporting performance. Some people complained of the dark edge and mood of the film but thats exactly what I liked about it. Well photographed and very well acted, this is a solid cop film that people should check out.