Jason Patric can play a police detective as well as anyone can. Patric would have been excellent on a show like The Shield. Seeing Patric in a reoccurring role and watching him delve deeper and deeper into his character, regardless of which direction that character might have gone, would have been something special. But Patrick has always been, and probably always will be, a silver-screen performer. He is undoubtedly not an A-lister, and his role has become few and far between. But, outside of Speed 2: Cruise Control, he always brings his A-game. For Patric, that involves grit, determination, and a deep understanding of the character he will be portraying. In my opinion, Patric was born to play the roles of undercover detectives, police officers, narcs, etc. He’s got the look. He understands the lingo. He’s scuzzy enough to pull it off but can invoke just the right amount of sympathy for viewers to believe in him and know that he’s one of the “good guys.”
Patric put his name on the map in 1991 as an undercover narcotics officer addicted to cocaine while trying to infiltrate a major criminal drug ring in the critically acclaimed Rush. In Narc, Patric is on the other side of the fence. He’s looking into the death of an undercover narcotics officer killed on the streets. The film opens with a shaky, handheld camera sequence with Nick Tellies (Patric) pursuing a drug dealer on foot. When the drug dealer holds a little girl hostage at a playground, Nick, still in a full sprint, does not hesitate in firing his pistol. He drops his target immediately, and the little girl is unharmed. However, one of his stray bullets ricochets off a piece of iron, striking a pregnant woman in the abdomen and killing her unborn baby. He’s pulled out from undercover, taken out of commission, and receives less than ideal financial and rehabilitation support while attempting to recover from a junkie habit that comes with his job as an undercover narcotics officer. The public would have a field day if they knew that the baby killer’s instincts might have been compromised by his being under the influence.
After 18 months, he’s given another chance on the street, an opportunity he welcomes but one that his wife Katherine (Anne Openshaw- The Grey) vehemently disapproves of. She and the couple’s newborn baby had grown accustomed to knowing that Nick would not be in danger each day he went to work. But it’s not in Nick’s DNA to sit around. He wants part of the action. Not only that but he’s offered a detective grade in the homicide division if he can help the force track the murderer of Michael Calvess (Alan Van Sprang – Saw 2, Land of the Dead), a fellow undercover narcotics and former partner of LieutenantHenry Oak (Ray Liotta – Goodfellas, Field of Dreams). The original investigation of Oak’s dead partner leads nowhere, and Tellie’s involvement prompts his involvement in opening the case back up. The police commissioner believes that bringing back Patric’s expertise and contacts within the narcotics community will help them get closer to the answer.
Liotta gives one of the finest performances of his career as the former partner and great friend of Calvess. Tellie’s involvement is bothersome. It seems Oaks would like to find the killers of his former partner, but at the same time, he doesn’t feel as fired up hauling in the killers as maybe he should be. Liotta has been known to overact in many of his movies. It’s usually when he is more reserved and allows the part to come to him that he finds a happy balance. Narc is an exception. He can be boisterous. He can be in your face. He’s got some anger management issues to deal with. But he doesn’t go to that over-the-top level. His partner was murdered, and he cares for his partner’s family. He wants to see those responsible pay, but there is just enough coyness about him that makes you question his intentions. Most of the time, when Oaks does something slightly abnormal, we quickly learn the reasons behind it. It’s not that he impedes Tellie’s operation, but he believes partners communicate. To say he loses his goal when Tellies either does something behind his back or disagrees with him would be an understatement. As audience members, we learn that Tellies is a good guy and that we’ll support him from the film’s opening scene. With Oaks, we don’t know. His brutality as an officer is something that we need to question. He’s volatile. But deep down inside, he does have some redeeming qualities. Now, we also can’t help but be aware of some of Liotta’s other performances. These, most notably for me, include Goodfellas, Unlawful Entry, Identity, and Cop Land. His character in Narc, though, is different. While we are suspicious of Oaks throughout this movie, Liotta does a great job of not tipping us one way or another.
Narc is a movie I can watch once every couple of years. There is nothing glamorous about it. There are no heroes. Some people are wired to put their lives on the line daily to help protect the community, city, and country they are sworn to protect. Some develop larger-than-life personalities and think they can be above the law to preserve justice. Without the proper checks and balances, the quicker and easier it is for them to rise to power, and the harder it becomes for people to tell them no and bring them back to reality. This is what Liotta has done with Oaks. I have only referenced a few other side characters here, but I will say that Oaks has raised the rinks in his department. It’s hard to tell this mom no. And when it becomes hard to tell someone no, you essentially say yes to them. That can become difficult when that person becomes too powerful.
Fans of dark cop movies should check it out.
Plot 8.5/10
Character Development 8.5/10
Character Chemistry 8/10
Acting 8.5/10
Screenplay 8/10
Directing 8/10
Cinematography 9/10
Sound 7.5/10
Hook and Reel 8/10 (you should get hooked early on…if you don’t, it might be a brutal movie for you).
Universal Relevance 7/10 (been there, done that…in hundreds of movies and television shows)
81%
Movies You Might Like If You Liked This Movie
- Rush
- Training Day
- Mystic River
- Cop Land
- Dark Blue