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If you thought Ray Liotta was good in Goodfellas, then you're in for an even better treat in Joe Carnahan's Narc. He plays the self-righteous and impetuous Lieutenant Oak, who we first see wrapping a pool ball in a sock and whacking a criminal's face right in the middle of the police station. Oak's ex partner, Calvess, was murdered sometime ago and there's still no conviction; understandably, he is determined and slightly-obsessed in finding the people responsible for the crime.

An intelligent, young narcotics office named Nick Tellis (Jason Patric, in an equally engrossing performance) is called to the case, and, like Oak, has his own troubles -- he accidentally shot a pregnant lady when pursuing a drug dealer and has been under close assessment from his officials ever since. At first, Nick is reluctant to take the job, but is promised complete reinstatement if he cooperates; soon enough, he agrees.

Gradually, both cops develop a mutual respect for one another through their no-nonsense detective work. Although they have conflicting personalities, there is a particularly inviting conversation between the two in the car where Oak talks about losing his wife to cancer, which first brings them together. "I became a much better cop the day she died," he says, in an attempt to describe the motives for his excessively violent methods when facing criminals. During this scene, Carnahan's camera pans around the car from the outside, allowing the audience to witness this developing bond between the two characters, which makes for some fascinating viewing.

As Nick and Henry begin searching and crossing off possible suspects on the streets of Detroit, the tension begins amounting to greater heights and we cannot help but be swept into their grungy underworld. The cinematography is gritty and feels realistic, and the story feels like it is based on reality; awash with dark blues and greys, the backdrop is a reflection of the emotional conflict present within the minds of characters. Narc is ultimately a character-driven movie -- not an action orientated one -- that deals with the psychological aspects of working undercover in the force. Oak and Tellis appear very complex on the strength of the script and the powerful performances from Liotta and Patric. Because of such, the story is never boring.

There's plenty of cynicism and bone-cracking violence in this film. I have to give credit to those involved in the sound and score: When punches are thrown, we really feel them connect; when bullets are fired, we can hear the skin tearing upon impact. Nearly each and every moment of suspense is made even more intriguing thanks to the astonishing sound design.

Overall, writer-director Carnahan deserves some serious respect for this impressively-brutal and realistic slice of cop drama. Narc doesn't break new ground, some may argue, but it does inject a huge amount of suspense into the genre right from the brilliant opening chase scene through to the fantastic climax (which takes part in a remote auto body shop, lasting at the very least thirty minutes). It looks great, reeks of good old-fashioned machoism, and delivers more than enough intelligence and gritty realism in its script to keep your pulse racing way past the end credits. Just brilliant!

(C) Andy Carrington, 2009.