Monday Movies You Aught to See: Narc

Regardless of whether the decade ended already ended in 2009 or will end at the close of the current year, the 2000s were a wonderful period of cinema with many treasures that deserve to be remembered. Check in at Movies with Abe on Mondays for Movies You Aught to See, a look back at memorable movies from the aughts. They are posted in no particular order, and if you have a great film from the 2000s that you think merits consideration, leave a note in the comments!

Narc
Directed by Joe Carnahan
Released December 20, 2002



This dark thriller is both a deeply engaging mystery and an in-depth character study of two cops: one (Jason Patric) investigating another (Ray Liotta) for his role in the murder of an undercover police officer. Like “Rashomon,” it doesn’t stick to just one version of events, and presents multiple scenarios under which Liotta’s character might have been involved in the catalytic event of the film. What really stands out in this gritty police drama is an astonishing performance by an unrecognizable Liotta, buried under a thick beard and considerable weight gain as the intensely volatile, unstable, dangerous subject of Patric’s investigation.