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:

Child Nudity | Shot To Death | Bare Butt | Shot In The Head | Shotgun

Awards:

1 win & 8 nominations

Cast

Dan Leis	...	Elvin Dowd
Jason Patric	...	Det. Sgt. 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	...	Capt. Mitchell 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	...	Det. Lt. 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:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA (TV rating) | Netherlands:16 | Philippines:R-18 | Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | USA:R (certificate #39112) | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Canada:18A | 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:

Cruise/Wagner Productions

Trivia:

Harrison Ford showed a lot of interest in playing Henry Oak but bowed out not too long after.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Towards the end of the movie, Jason Patric breaks open the car window and, when he opens the door, the legs of several crewmembers are visible through the door's rearview mirror.

Quotes:

Henry Oak: A little girl being brutalized... a little girl being abused has got nothing to do with the rules and regulations and everything to do with right and wrong.

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Pig is a Pig

Poignant mystery thriller known for its bad cop plus bad cop pairing

Rating: 8 out of 10. Written and Directed by Joe Carnahan.

Narc is one of the best movies that I have seen in recent months, I rented it several weeks ago from the video store and caught most of it again just last week on a movie channel. This is a story of bad cop and bad cop working together, which is a relief to me since the good cop plus bad cop pairing is too over done. Joe Carnahan shows that he is an extremely talented writer and director.

I have found myself thinking back to this movie several times since seeing it. It has a unique quality and excellent style to it. It also does not hurt to have good writing and directing that was complimented with the great acting of Jason Patric and Ray Liotta.

Jason Patric is Nick Tellis, an undercover narcotics officer. The movie opens with Tellis chasing a drug dealer through backyards and into a park until the chase ends with a shooting, the suspect gets hit, but so does a pregnant woman that was a bystander. The next scene takes place over a year later, and Tellis is in a boardroom meeting with a police board of inquiry. We find out that the pregnant woman that got shot lost her unborn child and that Tellis has been on an administrative leave all this time for over a year. The board offers him a deal, which is to solve the murder of a slain undercover narcotics officer named Michael Calvess. If he solves this murder, he will be fully reinstated with a choice assignment. Tellis storms out of the meeting declining the offer. A police captain played by Chi McBride follows Tellis out the room and is able to convince Tellis to reconsider.

As Tellis starts to investigate the murder, he requests the help of Calvess' former partner Henry Oak played by Ray Liotta. Initially the police captain says that Oak is off limits to the Calvess case and mentions that Oak is unstable. Oak isn't just unstable, he is a brutal cop, and we see a few flashback scenes of Oak viciously beating up suspects. Police Internal Affairs is always on the look out to find Oak guilty of brutality or planting evidence or any of the violations of conduct that Oak is suspected of doing. What allows Oak to continue to roam around like a vigilante is his impressive work record, the majority of Oak's arrests end up with a conviction. Therefore, Tellis is able to get Oak back onto the case.

As we see Tellis and Oak investigate, we see some very unusual characters and a couple of twists to the storyline. Of course Oak is quite brutal and Tellis is okay with using police brutality at times but is sometimes surprised at Oak's actions and methods. The movie ends with some shocking revelations.

Narc was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2002. Which is not a surprise since this was a very good film.