Narc Starring Jason Patric, Ray Liotta Directed by Joe Carnahan Rated R for strong brutal violence, drug content and pervasive language **3/4 out of 4 Stars, Movie Grade: B

Running time: 102 minutes

by Kevin Lang

Directed by Joe Carnahan, "Narc," starring Jason Patric and Ray Liotta, was a well made cop film, both gritty and at times intense. It was like watching an uncensored episode of NYPD blue or any number of other crime dramas on primetime television, only "Narc" was much more violent with a candid look of realism, both in the way it was shot and in the story itself.

The film started out with Nick Tellis (Jason Patric) chasing down a junkie. He shot the junkie dead, and at the same time a stray bullet that he had fired struck down a pregnant woman, causing her unborn son to die. As a result, Nick was emotionally shaken from the incident, and he no longer desired to be a narcotics investigator. However, with the promise of a desk job for the future, he agreed to work on one more case, to find out who had been responsible for the killing of an undercover officer. He teamed up with the slain officer's old partner, Henry Oak (Ray Liotta), and the two set out to solve what had been a dead end case.

Along the way, Nick became immersed in finding out who was responsible. His effort was partly to redeem himself, to erase certain mistakes that he had made in the past, one of which was becoming addicted himself while undercover. These flaws fit his character well, and I understood his motives for wanting to find the truth.

The one problem that I had with the film was that certain things were kept from the audience until the end that would have added to our understanding of the story throughout. Now let me make this clear, I enjoy trying to figure stories like this out, in a sense it allows us, the audience, to act as detectives too. However, we didn't get to see enough evidence to formulate any real theories. For example, I wish that I would have known that the junkie Nick killed at the beginning of the movie had actually come to kill Nick.

I felt confused at certain points near the end of the film as well, because as these plot points were revealed, they were done so rather quickly, leaving me momentarily unsure until I took a few moments to piece things together. I'm still curious if the slain officer's wife was supposed to be Ray Liotta's character's daughter. I'm sure Nick had revealed this, but it came rather quickly. If anyone can verify this, let me know.

In the end, "Narc" was a well-made film that hid a little too much from the audience for a little too long. It was the kind of movie that will likely ring much more clearly on a second viewing. The performances were good, especially by Liotta, whose character we both like and yet are cautiously unsure of, just as Nick was. Despite my limited criticisms of the film, "Narc" was a satisfying cop drama that should please fans of the genre.

"Narc" Review written January 9, 2002, CTF.

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