Gary’s Great Films

NARC (2002) Dir: Joe Carnahan

Raw energy. Pure adrenaline. Electric performances. There are few words that can really capture the feeling when you watch this film. Joe Carnahan’s second film stamps his signature all over a genre that was all but tired out. In fact, what impresses me most with this film is that it certainly feels new and fresh in a genre and storyline that’s been previously explored by myriads of filmmakers. And that’s damn hard to do.

The plot, if read on the page, could seem to be just another routine crime drama, but in the hands of Carnahan, he brilliantly creates a sense of urgency, depression and dread in an experience I will never forget. His use of precise framing, amazing color/film stock choices and an ingenious split-screen sequence differentiates this film from the pack. The editing style delivers a frenetic energy to the situation, and then slows to let you catch your breath.

The performances from Ray Liotta and Jason Patric are phenomenal. The motivations and feelings of the characters they create are so innately felt, that everything they do has significant resonance to everything around them and the viewer. They embody the harsh reality that we feel, and we feel that we are living it with them. Both Liotta and Patric were so under appreciated in this gem, I am surprised that not too much notice was given to them.

Watch this film. Live their lives.

Magic Moment
Nick Tellis (Jason Patirc) looks in the mirror when an important person in his life decides to leave him.