Narc
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Movie Reviews of Narc
Movie Review: Panic in Detroit
Summary: 5 Stars
Filmed in Detroit and Toronto, this brilliant piece of work has some of the best acting ever captured on film. With verisimilitude and intricacy of plot, Narc fires on all cylinders: moral, emotional, and philosophical (epistemological and aesthetic). Yet I had never heard of it. Why? I would guess it has to do in part with its not being a Hollywood product. Narc did not receive oodles of money and its director and producers (although Tom Cruise co-produced after seeing how good the finished product was) did not make nice to all the people who must be made nice to to produce and distribute a film. Superficially, Narc is a genre film, a police thriller. And it also does not (again, superficially) obey the stereotypes of (what for want of a lack of a better term has come to be called) political correctness. For example, the Ray Liotta character (absolutely brilliantly rendered), a veteran undercover police offer, at one point decries to his superiors (one of whom is black) that they are all too happy to pin the murder of a police officer on a wimpy pusher (who also happens to have the deceased's badge) because it is politically palatable. So, too, in another scene (the film's funniest) a Latino without pants (his wife gave him VD), who has just used his last match to set his wife's hair on fire, requests a light to do a hit of crack. Busta Rhymes plays a bad guy-again, superficially. The whole problem with this movie, from the Hollywood standpoint, is that it fails to be sufficiently superficial. Considering all the money available to make movies, making a good movie in Hollywood is not that difficult. But making a work of art appears to be impossible. Narc is a work of art. Lucky to get a couple of stars, and threatened with financial extinction early in its production, Narc delves into depths of moral complexity unavailable to films that poll audiences to find out what they would most like. ("Entertain us," in the words of Kurt Cobain.) The business model for normal film making appears to be based on corporate (un)accountability: try to make something that sells but, if it doesn't, make sure no single person can be held personally responsible for its failure. This recipe leads to some above-average films, mild entertainment, and far too many cinematic atrocities (especially when you consider the money spent making them). But too many cooks generally spoil the pot. Narc doesn't have too many cooks. It simply cooks. I loved this film not only because it is a kind of French Connection for the 00's, but also because it shows that, after all is said and done, a little true art is worth more than a truckload of money and spectacle.Movie Review: Our absurd drug laws claim more victims
Summary: 5 Stars
I have no idea if writer/director Joe Carnahan believes that America's war on drugs is backfiring and causing far more harm than good. It may indeed not be fair to describe "Narc" as a film with a message. Nevertheless, it forcefully reminds us that the unintentional consequences of these laws result in the corruption of both the police and our overall system of justice. Detroit Police Officer Nick Tellis (Jason Patric) accidentally kills an innocent bystander during a drug bust. He also develops a drug dependency problem while performing his duty as an undercover narc. Neither tragedy, needless to add, would have occurred if drugs were decriminalized. The man is now psychological warped and finds it difficult to function as a cop, husband, or parent. Is there any way that he might find redemption? A fellow narcotics officer is found shot to death. Tellis is assigned to partner with Lieutenant Henry Oak (Ray Liotta) to find out what happened. Both men are more than willing to torture suspects and violate their constitutional rights. The end, in their way of looking at the world, virtually justifies any means. They might feel a sense of guilt, but fighting the drug war is supposedly more important than honoring the moral norms of our country. "Narc" is a beautifully written story containing some of the best dialogue of any film that I've seen in a long time. The acting is utterly fantastic and the action is nonstop and brutal. "Narc" should disturb any law abiding American that doesn't want our country turned into a gestapo styled police state. One does not need to be a political Liberal (and I am not!) to conclude that something is wrong when the system inadvertently encourages such despicable behavior. This is not escapist entertainment and the ending will not be deemed satisfactory. Why is that? There is no way that the ludicrous war on drugs can possibly be won--and therefore any ending to such a film as "Narc" is doomed to be frustrating and even nihilistically hopeless. Wars are meant to be relatively short termed events that ultimately end in some sort of victory. That of course will never be in the case when society attempts to prevent some of its citizens from indulging in self destructive behavior. Human beings must sometimes be permitted to go to hell in a hand basket if they choose to do so. I also highly recommend that everyone view Jason Patric's earlier 1991 masterpiece "Rush." This great film similarly revolved around the human carnage resulting from our inane reluctance to legalize mind altering drugs.
Movie Review: Not just a good film, but a great one.
Summary: 5 Stars
Narc opens with one of the gutsiest and visceral sequences in recent memory. A wildly flailing camera tracking a breathless Jason Patric, who in turn is chasing after a brutal drug dealer who's pumping passersby with lethal dope as he's running. This is easily one of the most arresting beginnings for a film I've ever seen. And it doesn't stop there.
Director William Friedkin (The French Connection, The Exorcist) raved enthusiastically about Narc on the DVD interview and it's easy to see why. Writer/director Joe Carnahan employs many of the same post-modern film techniques as nine out of 10 young directors out there -- jump cuts, handheld camera, aggressive axial breaks. But Carnahan has the good story sense to contrast these with long extended scenes of beauty and emotional exploration, contrasting the stylish parts with real restraint and expression. Save for one scene (Ray Liotta's final scene) where the jump cuts intrude upon emotional catharsis, Carnahan's use of post-modern techniques is about as good as I've ever seen.
Jason Patric makes a welcome return to form in Narc, playing strung-out detective Tellis. Somehow he's always been good at drug roles (remember Rush?), and his haunting performance in Narc vindicates him for some of the acting atrocities he's committed. (Speed 2, anyone?) Ray Liotta's character, Henry Oak, is actually much richer than the hot-tempered firecracker depicted in the marketing campaigns, and Liotta's turn is equally charismatic and emotional. He remains a shamefully underutilized talent who deserves to be on top. Honorary mention to Anne Openshaw, who is mesmerizing in her one scene as Kathryn, the widow of murdered cop Mike Calvess. Carnahan's gritty dialoguing allows the actors to shine nicely, and Alex Nepomniaschy's cinematography is superb, especially given the film's mind-blowing, zero-budget 28-day shooting schedule. That's nearly four and a half pages of script a day!
Echoes of Steven Soderbergh's Traffic are inevitable given the subject matter, the expressionistic photography, hard-edged tone, and the harrowing Cliff Martinez score. To me, Narc is the kind of film that gives a good name to modern filmmaking, deftly balancing thematic substance, emotional maturity, great acting, and sure-handed storytelling. Bravo!
Movie Review: Gritty crime drama in the tradition of '70s cinema
Summary: 5 Stars
With recent documentaries, A Decade Under the Influence and Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, '70s American cinema is enjoying a resurgence and championed by critics as the last great decade of Hollywood filmmaking. Joe Carnahan is the latest filmmaker to draw upon '70s cinema for inspiration with his new film, Narc, an edgy drama about police corruption.There are several extras included on the DVD that explore various aspects of Narc. First up is an audio commentary by the film's writer and director, Joe Carnahan and the film's editor, John Gilroy. The two men are obviously close friends as evident from the familiarity between them. They joke and talk about all sorts of anecdotal material about the making of the film. Carnahan, in particular, is very entertaining as he gives most of his comments a spin of self-deprecating humour.
"Narc: Making the Deal" covers the origins of the movie. Carnahan talks about how it started off as a short film inspired by Errol Morris' famous documentary, The Thin Blue Line (1988), about the murder of a police officer.
"Narc: Shooting Up" examines the limitations of working on an independent film. The production ran into all sorts of problems, including running out of money. Liotta and his wife spent time drumming up completion funds while the dedicated cast and crew continued to work without being paid.
The look of the film is explored in "Narc: The Visual Trip." Carnahan talks about how certain films were framed and composed.
Finally, "The Friedkin Connection" is a ten-minute love fest by the famous filmmaker who is clearly impressed by Carnahan's movie.
Narc is a gritty, character driven crime drama in the best tradition of '70s American cinema but given a contemporary stylistic update that is reminiscent, at times, of the films of Michael Mann (Thief) and Steven Soderbergh (Traffic). Paramount has done a fine job packaging a pristine print of the movie with a nice collection of extras that are a notch above the usual fluff, promotional pieces that are created for recent films.
Movie Review: Another great movie with a "Twist" at the end
Summary: 5 Stars
WOW!!! Patric, Liotta and Busta OUTSTANDING performances.Saw this movie last night and must say that it must have been a "sleeper" hit because I don't remember it getting any commercial play nor very much trailer exposure at the Theaters. I can say one thing I sure am glad that Tom Cruise saw this at Sundance or whatever Film Festival he saw it and decided to back it because it may have been one of those that went str8 to video after 1 month on the big screen which is a shame because I believe many will miss the opportunity to catch this gripping drama. The previous reviews does so much justice to the plot that I won't even go into a lengthy description.
Ray Liotta is compelling in his INTENSE good-yet-Hard A$$-cop potrayal(nuff said... want to know more rent the movie), Jason Patric has always been one of the most underrated actors of "my" time he does a Superb job as a Cop dealing with his own demons and the slow realization that there is more to this investigation than is on paper, Chi McBride has a minimal role but always love to see his acting last but not least Busta Rhymes.... I am so impressed by his increased acting roles and the growth he has shown (you go boiiiiiiii - circa Flava Flav) LOL
The story/plot is engrossing yes, the plot sounds familiar but TRUST me this is not the same ole scenario, same ole outcome. It has some scenes of violence that may disturb some. The Movie shows some day-to-day injustice that exists out there but is allowed as well as the ever problematic dual NARC life (just take enough to get them to trust you get you in...... YEA... RIGHT!!) Location was in Detroit very dark, gritty some of the scenes are shot with the "running camera" effect which I sometimes get motion sickness LOL but it goes with the flow of the movie, also some of the scenes were played like a comic book set-up (without the cartoon images) but in the "4-scenes-on-the-screen" look. Everything pulled together effectively.
If you liked "Rush" you should enjoy this.
Respectfully Reviewed