Narc (2002)

When the trail goes cold on a murder investigation of a policeman an undercover narcotics officer is lured back to the force to help solve the case.

Director:

Joe Carnahan

Writer:

Joe Carnahan

Stars:

Ray Liotta, Jason Patric, Chi McBride

1 win & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dan Leis	...	Elvin Dowd
Jason Patric	...	Nick Tellis
Lloyd Adams	...	Walter Dandridge
Meagan Issa	...	Little Girl
Lina Giornofelice	...	Jeanine Mueller (as Lina Felice)
A.C. Peterson	...	Freeman Franks (as Alan C. Peterson)
Karen Robinson	...	Liz Detmer
Chi McBride	...	Captain Cheevers
Booth Savage	...	Cecil Mitchum
Alan Van Sprang	...	Michael Calvess
Gavyn Donaldson	...	Tellis' Infant Son
Myles Donaldson	...	Tellis' Infant Son
Krista Bridges	...	Audrey Tellis
Ray Liotta	...	Henry Oak
Thomas Patrice	...	Officer Marcotte

Storyline

An undercover narc dies, the investigation stalls, so the Detroit P.D. brings back Nick Tellis, fired 18-months ago when a stray bullet hits a pregnant woman. Tellis teams with Henry Oak, a friend of the dead narc and an aggressive cop constantly under the scrutiny of internal affairs. They follow leads, informants turn up dead, Nick's wife is unhappy he's back on the street, Henry's protective of the dead cop's wife. Nick reads and re-reads the case file, broods, watches Oak's heavy-handed style, sometimes joining in. The brass want to close out the case, Nick and Henry stay on it, and bits of evidence point them to an auto body shop. What actually happened; will Nick ever know?

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Plot Keywords:

undercover | murder | opening action scene | blood splatter | police shootout | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong brutal violence, drug content and pervasive language

Details

Official Sites:

Paramount [United States]

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

10 January 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Narc: Calles peligrosas

Filming Locations:

Regent Park, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$7,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$63,303, 22 December 2002, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$10,460,089, 16 March 2003

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Lions Gate Films, Cruise/Wagner Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tom Cruise was so impressed after seeing the movie that he took on the role of executive producer, and made sure the movie got a wider release than originally planned. He also convinced director Joe Carnahan to take the director's chair for Cruise's upcoming Mission: Impossible III (2006). However, not long after production started, Carnahan left the set due to creative differences with Cruise.

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Goofs

When Lt. Henry Oak is first seen, his jacket is off, revealing his shoulder holster rig. He is carrying a .357 magnum revolver, but the holster rig is made for a semiautomatic. The strap on the side opposite the pistol contains a case for a semiautomatic magazine.

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Quotes

Henry Oak: [to Tellis] You must be out of your fucking mind! You call up my integrity? My commitment to that kid?

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Connections

Referenced in Lost Cause (2013)

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Soundtracks

Mind Playin' Tricks on Me
Performed by Geto Boys
Courtesy of Virgin Records America, Inc./Rap-A-Lot Records
Written by Willie Dennis, Scarface (as Brad Jordan) and Doug King

User Reviews

Good, tough and gritty cop film

This film reminded me of those cop films from the late 60's and 70's like "The Seven Ups" and "The French Connection" but this film is really dark and dirty. One thing that stands out is the cinematography that I'll describe later. Film opens with a cop chasing a suspect into a park and when shots are fired at one another a pregnant woman gets hit. Month's later the force wants him back to work with an older cop and investigate a cop killing. Jason Patric and Ray Liotta star in this film and its directed by Joe Carnahan who employs a very good visual style to an already familiar story. The film has a dark and gritty look about it that suggests a touch of "Film Noir". One scene in particular stands out and its the one where Patric and Liotta are in a cafe having coffee and talking. The scene is dimly lit with both characters seemingly in shadows. It suggests that both are shadowy figures and have something to hide. Carnahan creates a dark mood for the film that I found very effective. Nothing seems forced here and it creates an indelible aura of bleakness. These are the streets that these cops work in everyday and you can understand some of the personality flaws of the characters. Ray Liotta stands out here and its the type of performance that reminds us why Scorsese cast him in "Goodfellas" in the first place. He gained 25 pounds for the role and along with Tom Cruise and a host of others helped produce this film. All the hard work paid off and I hope studios remember him with more work. He's always been a terrific actor and its hard to forget those eyes of his when he sinks his teeth into a role like this. They're was some talk of him being nominated for an Academy award in the supporting category which would be wrong. Both he and Patric are in the film about the same amount of time. They are both starring roles and its not a supporting performance. Some people complained of the dark edge and mood of the film but thats exactly what I liked about it. Well photographed and very well acted, this is a solid cop film that people should check out.