Director: Elaine May
Screenplay: Elaine May
Starring: Peter Falk, John Cassavetes, Ned Beatty, Carol Grace, Joyce Van Patten, Rose Arrick, M. Emmet Walsh, Sanford Meisner
Year: 1976
Country: USA
BBFC Certification: 15
Duration: 106 min
The writer/director/actress Elaine May is best known in the world of film for working on comedies. Her sadly short directorial career, in particular, began with a pair of black comedies, A New Leaf and The Heartbreak Kid, before ending with the much-maligned comic-mishmash, Ishtar. Though that last film has its supporters these days, the experience of making and releasing it was enough to put May off directing a feature film again. She continued to write and act though, mainly still in comedies, and has appeared in a couple of films and TV series over the last decade, despite now being in her 90s.
However, nestled in between the three comedies she directed (and wrote), is something altogether different, Mikey and Nicky.
May reportedly grew up in a ‘connected’ family, so she was aware of mobster activity. She wanted to make a film that showed the grim reality of such a life, presumably in answer to the more romanticised view shown in the Godfather films and their imitators. Many of May’s scripts, particularly up to this point, had been adapted from other people’s work but here she drew on stories she’d heard growing up to write an original screenplay.
The production was messy, running way over schedule and budget, leading to May getting caught up in legal problems and Paramount attempting to take control of the edit (reports differ as to whether or not they did, though May is known to have given the OK on the version now available). Being so bleak and unlike anything the filmmaker had made before, Mikey and Nicky failed to find an audience on release and critics weren’t sure what to make of it either.
As time passed, however, appreciation grew for the film and it is now being released on Blu-ray by The Criterion Collection. Having loved A New Leaf and being a fan of Mikey and Nicky’s lead actors, I got hold of a screener to share my thoughts on the film.
Mikey and Nicky follows the turbulent relationship between the two low-level mobsters of the title, over one fateful night. Nicky (John Cassavetes) believes a hit has been taken out on him and the stress is almost causing a nervous breakdown. In desperation, he calls his old friend Mikey (Peter Falk) for help. Though their friendship has been strained in recent years, Mikey heads straight over and tries to knock some sense into Nicky.
Mikey wants to get Nicky out of town, but Nicky keeps taking diversions to various bars, mistresses and such.
Meanwhile, Kinney (Ned Beatty), a hitman hired by Mikey and Nicky’s boss, Dave Resnick (Sanford Meisner), does his best to follow so that he can do his job and ‘rub out’ Nicky.
Much like audiences back in 1976, when this was released, I was expecting Mikey and Nicky to be a comedy when I first requested a screener. Thankfully, I realised otherwise shortly before putting the disc in my player (I checked online for the running time and noted the genre and headline of a review), as this would be quite a shock to the system if you put it on expecting a good chuckle.
There are a few amusing lines, to be fair, (early on, the “I came as soon as I got your towel” line made me laugh) but, on the whole, Mikey and Nicky is desperately sad. The few funny asides merely act to give the grim tale some added humanity.
It’s very much a character piece that peels back the layers of our two troubled, deeply flawed protagonists. Like a lot of the best films of the 70s, Mikey and Nicky is raw, unvarnished and uncomfortable, shot with a gritty style that allows the actors to do their thing.
And what performances. Falk and Cassavetes were friends in real life, which adds to their intimate chemistry on screen. Despite both of them being pretty reprehensible characters, you can’t help but feel drawn to them and can empathise with their plights. They feel completely real as you watch them. You might think this sense comes from improvisation but, whilst I imagine freedom of movement and physical expression was likely allowed, the script was reportedly followed very closely. It’s a testament to May’s dialogue and the performances that it feels so believable.
There are also some impressive actors in minor roles. The great M. Emmet Walsh, for example, shows up for a brief scene as a bus driver.
The central friendship is wonderfully complex too, making for a richly textured examination. Toxic masculinity is a major complicating factor, with competition, ego and other typically masculine traits getting in the way of the deep platonic love between the two men.
Women are treated very poorly in the film but this is likely what life was like for the wives and girlfriends of these mobsters and it only adds to the themes mentioned previously. There’s a particularly disturbing sequence when Nicky takes Mikey to a girl he advertises as a ‘sure thing’ and proceeds to take advantage of her before suggesting Mikey does the same.
The film maintains an uncomfortable, intense atmosphere throughout, all the way to its inevitable but nonetheless powerful ending.
Overall, Mikey and Nicky is a grim, raw drama that spins a gangster movie cliche on its head and opens it up to show the toxic, fragile masculinity at its core. It’s an astonishing film, even if it’s not an easy watch.
Film:
Mikey and Nicky is out on 13th January on Blu-Ray in the UK, released by The Criterion Collection. The transfer is impressive, with a detailed picture and natural grain and colours. It sounds good too.
DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
– New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised by director Elaine May, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
– New program on the making of the film featuring interviews with distributor Julian Schlossberg and actor Joyce Van Patten
– New interviews with critics Richard Brody and Carrie Rickey
– Audio interview from 1976 with actor Peter Falk
– Trailer and TV spot
– English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
– PLUS: An essay by critic Nathan Rabin
‘Elaine May’s Mikey and Nicky’ sees distributor Julian Schlossberg and actor Joyce Van Patten talk about the production. They all speak fondly of May and her powerful approach to the film.
We also get a critical view of the film from Richard Brody and Carrie Rickey They break it down in detail, discussing what makes it so powerful.
Finally, there’s a 45 minute interview with Falk. It was recorded around the release of Mikey and Mickey, so whilst his career as a whole is discussed, a lot is said about the film itself. He has some interesting thoughts on his and Casavetes’ characters in particular.
I didn’t receive a copy of the booklet, unfortunately.
So, Criterion have done justice to this underseen classic, with a strong collection of supplements. I give it a firm recommendation.
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