”
Narc,
”
an independently-produced film that has been sitting on the
shelf for more than a year after playing to standing-ovations at
numerous festivals, needed Tom Cruise’s help to see the light of
day
– which is a good thing.
“Narc,” an independently-produced film that has been sitting on the shelf for more than a year after playing to standing-ovations at numerous festivals, needed Tom Cruise’s help to see the light of day – which is a good thing.
The producer side of Tom Cruise saw the film at a festival, loved it and bought up the rights. Now the film is being touted as one of the best films of the year, a candidate for serious Oscar consideration.
I’ll take it one further: “Narc” is the best cop film since William Friedkin’s masterpiece “The French Connection,” which came out in 1971. Joe Carnahan is a director to watch, preferring naturalism and cinema verite style to the glamorous police action films that come from the Hollywood mainstream.
In “Narc,” being a cop isn’t always about being a hero. It’s also about making choices, and sometimes the police in the film do bad things to keep their reputation straight, even if it’s not.
It’s a harrowing film, made all the more effective by the seediness of the Detroit underworld, photographed with a dreary, moody effectiveness that literally takes you there.
The hand-held, jittery camera clues us in to the danger and the clausrophobic nature of police work and enhances the dark tone of the picture, using blue filters that add a smokiness to the light.
The story of “Narc” concerns two officers and their pursuit of a murdered cop named Michael Calvess (Alan Van Sprang). After months of investigation, the force comes up with nothing, and the victim’s partner, the scary and revenge-bound Henry Oak (a frightening Ray Liotta), is getting impatient with the progress being made. He makes a pact that someone will pay for his partner’s death.
Lt. Oak is partnered with a young, idealistic cop named Nick Tellis (Jason Patrick), who is just coming off suspension for an accidental killing in which a bullet from his gun missed the target and hit an innocent mother, killing her unborn baby in the process.
Although Tellis gets his man, the accident causes the department to suspend him. Eighteen months later, Tellis is given an opportunity: help Oak find Calvess’ killer and be reinstated to the force. Unfortunately, Tellis’ wife Audrey (Krista Bridges) likes their new life and doesn’t want her husband back on the streets.
“Narc” tells a brutal story about how the war on drugs affects the people involved. The drug dealers in “Narc” are violent, reactionary and quick to pounce on the cops who pursue them, all in the name of reputation, power and money.
But the film also gets inside the minds of the police, who feel like they are losing the war and will do virtually anything to get convictions, from planting evidence to beating people into false confessions.
The performances in “Narc” crackle with energy, wit and humanity. Liotta, who gained more than 30 pounds for his complex Lt. Henry Oak, wraps himself completely around the role, portraying a character who is dying inside and will do anything to get his version of justice.
Jason Patrick, who came out of exile to make this film, shines in the scenes depicting police work, but his best moments are when he’s with his worried wife and his beloved baby, displaying a warm, loving father and husband.
“Narc” is the second film from gifted director Joe Carnahan, following 1998’s terrific, yet underappreciated “Blood, Bullets, and Octane.” With “Narc,” he shows a gift not only in depicting crime fighting on the screen but also the effects on this type of brutal work on a person’s family.
NARC. Written and directed by Joe Carnahan. With Ray Liotta, Jason Patrick, Busta Rhymes, Chi McBride, Alan Van Sprague and Krista Bridges. Rated R (extreme violence, language, mature themes), 107 minutes. Now playing at Bay Area theaters.
