Cop Redux
by Ed Owens

Let's be honest...one's tolerance for police procedurals can only be pushed so far, regardless of how well they're made. While the multiplexes have pushed the genre in the direction of scenery-chewing serial killers and neo-noir posturing, television has merely pushed the genre, forcing it down our throats with multiple flavors of Law & Order and CSI, with a generous smattering of other shows to fill in the remaining timeslots. The resulting glut has threatened to turn the cop film into one giant cliché, destroying what little credibility remained after a similar explosion in the 70's.

Enter Narc.

Narc is less a completely cohesive narrative whole than an expertly crafted series of well-executed setpieces strung together by an otherwise traditional storyline. Tellis (Jason Patric), an undercover narcotics officer with the Detroit police department, is fired after the accidental death of a pregnant woman during a playground shootout. His shot at redemption comes in the form of Henry Oaks (Ray Liotta), an aggressive detective whose partner was gunned down in a local park while working undercover. The two reluctantly pair up and begin scouring Detroit's criminal underground for clues.

One of the film's biggest strengths is its ability to make recycled plot points and clichéd stylistics seem fresh and engaging again. Much of the credit has to go to sophmore director Joe Carnahan, whose familiarity with the genre and its tics allows him the freedom to play, to boil the conventions down to their essence, and find plenty of creative opportunities in the process. A split-screen montage of the ongoing investigation manages to develop tension even through the drudgery of numerous interrogations and contacts, marrying style and substance with a balance seldom achieved in today's post-Tarantino culture. (Credit must also go to Alex Nepomniaschy's wonderfully atmospheric camera-work). Many of the scenes are still as vivid as they were sitting in the theater--the film's first is easily one of the most bravura openers all year, and a garage interrogation later in the film ratchets up the tension to almost unbearable levels despite its near twenty minute length.

Of course, none of it works without solid performances, and Narc has not one, but two. Patric's brooding silence and Liotta's explosive rage play perfectly off each other, giving hard-edged life to characters that otherwise skirt dangerously close to stereotype. Liotta in particular shows a surprising range, moving seemingly effortlessly between sympathy and menace, control and hysteria, often within the same scene. The rest of the cast is also strong (including an impressive cameo from Busta Rhymes), but the film belongs in every way to its two leads.

It should be said that Narc is not a happy film, nor, in some cases, a pleasant experience. Whether or not you like it will largely depend on your tolerance for its relentlessly bleak outlook and spontaneous brutality (some of which, like the work of the aforementioned Tarantino, is darkly comic and savagely funny). Regardless, it is ultimately a rewarding film, a superb genre picture that makes everything old seem new again.

©2003 Ed Owens
CineScene