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NARC Send This Review to a Friend
Are you ready for yet another violent drug drama? "Narc," an intense film written and directed by Joe Carnahan with an eye toward gutsy realism, ranges over all-to-familiar territory. In this case, the setting is Detroit and Jason Patric plays an undercover officer, Nick Tellis, who has been suspended as a result of a pregnant woman having been shot in a drug bust gone bad. But in another situation, a young cop has been slain and Tellis is ordered back to get at the truth even though, with a wife and baby at home, he doesn't want to combat the drug world again.
Tellis is partnered in the new assignment with Ray Liotta as homicide detective Henry Oak, whose former partner was the officer killed. Oak is a nasty piece of work. He's gung-ho and has no respect for rights of suspects. Given the conventions of cop versus drug-dealer films, we are primed enough to always suspect a crooked, lying cop somewhere at the core. Why expect "Narc" to be any different?
This is a tough film to watch because of its moments of sheer brutality, and although the performances are strong and Patric does well communicating his reluctance to get back on the street and his determination to crack the case, we've been down this road in various ways before. A Paramount Pictures release.
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