A
cop has been killed, and the cop killer is at large. That
is the premise for Narc, directed and written by Joe Carnahan.
Henry Oak (played by Ray Liotta) was on duty at the time of
the killing, and he claims to know who did the foul deed.
Eighteen months earlier, Nick Tellis (played by Jason Patric)
used what was judged to be excessive force in pursuing a criminal,
so he has been on suspension. Now his boss wants to reinstate
him so that he can team up with Oak to apprehend the cop killer.
Nick agrees, provided that he will be assigned to a desk job
after the case is solved, as his spouse Audrey (played by
Krista Bridges) is apprehensive about his dangerous life as
a cop. For the rest of the film, the two police partners follow
various leads around destitute Detroit, which is even more
hideous than the suburbs depicted in this year's 8
Mile. Ultimately, they locate two suspects.
Oak tries to beat confessions out of the suspects, but by
now most filmviewers will guess that Oak is responsible for
the killing. Indeed, when Oak goes to his car, Nick hears
a different story from the suspects--about one crooked cop
bumping off another. The Rashomonlike retellings of the death
of a dirty cop add a cinematic element perhaps, but the mystery
is finally cleared up in the end. However, the use of excessive
force will probably make more of an impression on filmviewers
than the simplistic plot. MH
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