There seems to be a major difference between American crime dramas and British ones . In Britain the story is constructed around who is the murderer and why they did it . In America this is mostly confined to television with such things as COLUMBO and MURDER SHE WROTE . Instead American cinematic films concern themselves more with an introspective journey through the detective's mind . NARC continues this tradition and does it grimly . Perhaps too grimly
Undercover cop Nick Tellis finds himself in hot water after a bust leaves one bystander dead and another seriously injured . Wanting an easier life he dreams of getting a cushy desk job and the only way he'll achieve this is is by cracking the case involving a murdered cop , so he becomes a " narc " slang for an undercover cop
A simple enough premise and perhaps fearful that it's too simple he tries to make everything as bleak , nihilistic and depressing as possible . He succeeds . Everything is shot in cold tones and you'll feel yourself shivering in the cold . cloudy landscapes . All the characters including Tellis himself match the cold , ugly visuals
This is certainly hard hitting stuff and much better than director Joe Carnahan's later SMOKIN' ACES which was an over the top mess . Unfortunately Carnahan the screenwriter show's his later flaws by including one twist too many with the story climax . Tellis and partner Henry Oak arrest the two suspects . Oak tries to beat a confession out of them while Tellis watches . Oak then leaves the scene where the suspects claim Oak killed the undercover cop . Oak comes back , Tellis leaves and ... well let's just say the film at this point gets a bit too contrived
This lets the film down slightly . NARC isn't for everyone but Jason Patric as Tellis conveys convincingly a man doing a dangerous and thankless task . Best performance however belongs to Ray Liotta as Oak and I'd forgotten just how good he can be if he gets the right film Perhaps the fact he appears in rubbish like SMOKIN' ACES doesn't help his cause and hopes after that movie both Liotta and Carnahan deserve a second chance
Undercover cop Nick Tellis finds himself in hot water after a bust leaves one bystander dead and another seriously injured . Wanting an easier life he dreams of getting a cushy desk job and the only way he'll achieve this is is by cracking the case involving a murdered cop , so he becomes a " narc " slang for an undercover cop
A simple enough premise and perhaps fearful that it's too simple he tries to make everything as bleak , nihilistic and depressing as possible . He succeeds . Everything is shot in cold tones and you'll feel yourself shivering in the cold . cloudy landscapes . All the characters including Tellis himself match the cold , ugly visuals
This is certainly hard hitting stuff and much better than director Joe Carnahan's later SMOKIN' ACES which was an over the top mess . Unfortunately Carnahan the screenwriter show's his later flaws by including one twist too many with the story climax . Tellis and partner Henry Oak arrest the two suspects . Oak tries to beat a confession out of them while Tellis watches . Oak then leaves the scene where the suspects claim Oak killed the undercover cop . Oak comes back , Tellis leaves and ... well let's just say the film at this point gets a bit too contrived
This lets the film down slightly . NARC isn't for everyone but Jason Patric as Tellis conveys convincingly a man doing a dangerous and thankless task . Best performance however belongs to Ray Liotta as Oak and I'd forgotten just how good he can be if he gets the right film Perhaps the fact he appears in rubbish like SMOKIN' ACES doesn't help his cause and hopes after that movie both Liotta and Carnahan deserve a second chance