Narc

January 10, 2003 0 By Fans
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Still of Ray Liotta and Jason Patric in NarcStill of Ray Liotta and Jason Patric in NarcSherrie Rose at event of Narc(l to r) Ray Liotta, director Joe Carnahan, Jason PatricStill of Ray Liotta in NarcStill of Jason Patric in Narc

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.

Release Year: 2002

Rating: 7.3/10 (22,847 voted)

Critic's Score: 70/100

Director:
Joe Carnahan

Stars: Ray Liotta, Jason Patric, Chi McBride

Storyline
An undercover narc dies, the investigation stalls, so the Detroit P.D. brings back Nick Tellis, fired 18-months ago when a stray bullet hits a pregnant woman. Tellis teams with Henry Oak, a friend of the dead narc and an aggressive cop constantly under the scrutiny of internal affairs. They follow leads, informants turn up dead, Nick's wife is unhappy he's back on the street, Henry's protective of the dead cop's wife. Nick reads and re-reads the case file, broods, watches Oak's heavy-handed style, sometimes joining in. The brass want to close out the case, Nick and Henry stay on it, and bits of evidence point them to an auto body shop. What actually happened; will Nick ever know?

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



Details

Official Website:
Paramount [United States] |

Release Date: 10 January 2003

Filming Locations: Detroit, Michigan, USA



Box Office Details

Budget: $7,500,000

(estimated)

Opening Weekend: $63,303
(USA)
(22 December 2002)
(6 Screens)

Gross: $10,460,089
(USA)
(16 March 2003)



Technical Specs

Runtime:



Did You Know?

Trivia:

Tom Cruise was so impressed after seeing the movie that he took on the role of executive producer, and made sure the movie got a wider release than originally planned. He also convinced director Joe Carnahan to take the director's chair for Cruise's upcoming
Mission: Impossible III. However, not long after production started, Carnahan left the set due to creative differences with Cruise.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous:
The word "SENSITIVITY" is misspelled on the tape-recorder in the last scene of the movie.

Quotes:

Henry Oak:
It's impossible you're this dumb.



User Review

A really atmospheric and enjoyable thriller

Rating:

Over a year after he was suspended during an investigation into a shooting
when he was undercover, Nick Tellis is given an opportunity to redeem
himself by joining an investigation into the murder of another undercover
cop who's partner is a suspect. Nick and Henry Oak team up, investigating
each other as much as the actual murder. They follow a lead from a junkie
but begin to uncover clues that point to police weapons getting onto the
black market and the suggestion that someone within the Detroit force is
in
bed with the junkies.

A small film with big budget problems gets picked up at Sundance and has
Tom
Cruise's name added to it as executive producer. Thank goodness that this
film got bought up and received a bigger audience. It is a shame that
more
people didn't go and see it but it still isn't bad for a film that was
almost shutdown mid-shoot due to budget problems (ie, they didn't have
any!). The plot is a good cop thriller in the mould of the old 70's
thrillers where the lines between good/bad, right/wrong are pretty
blurred.
The focus of the film is the mcguffin of the tunnel – what happened, who
did
what? but the film is much more than that, it has themes of family and
scenes of violence and tension that move everything forward. It is easily
one of the best films released in 2003. It manages to take a genre that
is
seen so often and make it feel fresh and enjoyable.

As both writer and director Carnahan is brilliant. His script is well
written and has plenty of tough dialogue but it is the feel and look of
the
film that is brilliant. On top of the toning used to taint each scene
(the
job is mostly washed out blues, family scenes are reds but gradually lose
their taint over the film) the film uses other tricks. The framing of
shots
are different for each character and it really adds to the film. If you
like this film it is worth hunting out the DVD just for the extras,
Carnahan
talks in detail about the reasons behind the composition of some shots and
it is impressive to hear and understand his thought process.

The cast are excellent, although really the film hinges on the two leads.
Liotta is as good as he has ever been. It would be easy to just accept
his
performance as a `powerhouse' but it also has sensitivity, emotion and
layers to it. Patric is also good, his themes with family and past are
brought up well in a performance that accepts that he is very much
secondary
to Liotta. Support from Busta Rhymes is minor but he plays it very well,
not at all like many hip hop stars who do movies to enhance their
bling-bling gangsta personae. There are other solid support roles too,
but
it really is Liotta and Patric's film.

As a cop thriller this harks back to darker days and it is very effective,
with a solid plot and a good sense of the unknown until some solid twists
near the end. The film has an impressive style to it and, while Liotta
deserves the praise, the success and feel of this film are down to the
skills of Carnahan as both writer and director. With his talented and
underpaid crew he has turned a good script into a great
film.