Narc (2002) – Film Review

Director: Joe Carnahan
Cast: Ray Liotta, Jason Patric, Chi McBride
Certificate: 18

By Sarah Morgan

If gritty crime dramas are your bag, then you really need to check out Narc, the third film from Joe Carnahan.

The writer-director has since made films with a much bigger budget, including the The Grey and the cinematic remake of The A-Team, and although they have their merits, they’re not a patch on this early entry on his CV.

Jason Patric and Ray Liotta head the cast. Patric plays undercover narcotics officer Nick Tellis, whose most recent case ended in disaster. He receives a chance to redeem himself by finding the killer or killers of fellow undercover cop Michael Calvess, who was murdered in the line of duty.

“Compelling presence”

Tellis accepts the case, which brings him into contact with Henry Oak, Calvess’ friend and colleague, who is protective of his memory and close to his wife and children. Oak is also supposedly an unstable character, one who thinks nothing of pushing the boundaries to ensure that villains are brought to justice.

As he delves deeper into the events leading up to Calvess’ death, Tellis realises that Oak could be hiding some vital evidence, and puts his own marriage in jeopardy to uncover what it may be.

Patric is the quiet, understated centre of the film, a compelling presence and subtle counterpoint to Liotta’s more flamboyant Oak. That may sound as if Liotta is overacting throughout, but that’s not the case – this is arguably a career-best performance from the much-missed star, who was also among the film’s producers.

“Plenty of tension”

Watch out too for a memorable appearance from rapper Busta Rhymes as one of a pair of drug dealers who knew Calvess and his previously unknown links to Tellis himself.

Carnahan’s clever screenplay keeps its audience guessing about who or what was the cause of the cop’s death, with plenty of tension thrown in for good measure. Full marks go to cinematographer Alex Nepomniaschy too, who creates a moody backdrop for the characters to play against; it also gives the entire film a look reminiscent of some of those great cop movies of the 1970s, such as The French Connection and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.

This two-disc edition is also packed with special features, including interviews with Carnahan, Nepomniaschy and William Friedkin, who draws comparisons between Narc and his own film, the aforementioned French Connection.

Sarah Morgan( Writer )

Sarah Morgan studied film journalism at post-graduate level with the BFI and has been writing about TV and film for PA Media’s newspaper, magazine and new media customers since 1996. She’s also written for a wide range of other publications, both online and in print, including the book Offbeat and Intermission magazine, and is a regular contributor to the Talking Pictures TV podcast. When she isn’t watching movies, she’s collecting and reading vintage crime and horror paperback books or, for her sins, watching her beloved Sheffield Wednesday.

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