Intermission: Strong characters bring 'Narc,' 'Adaptation' to life

Jim Wunderle is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.

Jason Patric has played this sort of character before, and his portrayal of Detective Nick Tellis in "Narc" could be his cop character from "Rush" 10 years later. Ray Liotta is no stranger to this kind of material either, having played both cop and criminal to great effect.

Perhaps it's the combined talents of these two veterans that makes "Narc" seem so utterly believable. "Gritty" is a description that will undoubtedly turn up in every review, and it really is an apt one.

This is what I call a "shower inducing" film, and it pulls no punches in its depiction of the seamy world of drugs, the criminal underworld and the cops who go undercover to ostensibly try to clean things up a bit.

Tellis is suspended after a bust-gone-bad leaves an innocent bystander, a pregnant woman, dead. He's called back into service to help investigate the murder of another undercover cop, Detective Calvess. Calvess' partner, Henry Oak (Liotta), has sworn he won't rest until his friend's killers are brought to justice. You can tell by the look Liotta puts in this character's eyes that he means what he says.

In a lot of buddy cop films there is inevitably some underlying humor that surfaces occasionally to ease the tension. Don't look for any of that in "Narc."

Tellis and Oak are serious, and the people they are dealing with are about as despicable as can be imagined.

While the two cops share a common goal, their methods are quite different, and they don't really gel like other cop teams seem to.

This effectively adds even more tension to the mix, and at times, we wonder if the two will survive each other, not to mention the drug-crazed lowlifes with whom they are in daily contact.

Much of what makes "Narc" work is its element of surprise and the twists it takes getting to the climax. With that in mind, I've chosen not to discuss many details here. But keep in mind that things, even movie clichs, are not always what they seem. Pay attention and you'll be rewarded.

"Adaptation"

Be prepared: If you choose to venture inside the universe created by writer Charlie Kaufman and director Spike Jonze, you will not come out unscathed.

Anyone who saw the team's last effort, "Being John Malkovich," knows what I'm talking about. Their latest film, "Adaptation," is similarly skewed and folds back on itself, turns inside out and upside down. It's a wild ride and one of the most original and inventive films since, well ... "Being John Malkovich."

The opening scene is over a black screen with small white titles at the bottom. In voice over we hear Kaufman (played in the film by Nicolas Cage) ruminating about his miserable failings in life. He's fat, balding, has no talent, is insecure, loathsome and without an original thought in his head. A cheery beginning, indeed.

Kaufman has been hired to write a screenplay based on Susan Orlean's book, "The Orchid Thief," a true-to-life account of John Laroche, a man obsessed with orchids and their propagation. He will go to any lengths to procure them.

Kaufman likes the story and wants to do a screenplay about "flowers." He soon finds this is easier said than done, and while the book is engaging, there just is not a movie there. This sends the writer into a panic.

Charlie's twin brother, Donald, is the opposite of Charlie and completely oblivious to all of his shortcomings. He, too, is writing a script. He's taken a three-day seminar and is now confident he can crank out a real moneymaker. What he comes up with is "a cross between Psycho' and Silence of the Lambs.'"

He asks Charlie for advice, and Charlie sarcastically gives him the most inane suggestions he can conjure. Donald uses them and sells his script for an amount in the upper six figures. This sends Charlie deeper into despair.

The world Kaufman has created is multitiered, and "Adaptation," while incorporating the story of "The Orchid Thief," is also about trying to write the screenplay based on "The Orchid Thief."

Some people, mostly from "Being John Malkovich" are on hand playing themselves. Other characters (Orlean, Laroche and McKee, who give the screenwriting seminars) are based on real people but played by actors. Streep is marvelous as author Orlean.

Still other characters are entirely fictional. The film makes references to itself and weaves through a kaleidoscopic array of settings, moods and realities. There's even a flashback to 4 billion years ago.

Similar to Kaufman's and Jonze's previous film and entirely different at the same time, "Adaptation" is a satisfying, entirely original, thought-provoking and downright entertaining movie.

Let's hope the pair has a long-standing relationship; we need more films like this.