Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Film: "Mikey & Nicky" with Cassavetes & Falk

“Mikey and Nicky” is an off-beat, 1976 gangster film starring Peter Falk as Mikey and John Cassavetes as Nicky, two low-level mob guys. The movie was written and directed by Elaine May, the comedian who directed “A New Leaf” and “The Heartbreak Kid.” But “Mikey and Nicky” does not resemble either of her 1970s movies. It looks, sounds and feels like a Cassavetes film with its nearly documentary style and seemingly improvised scenes - the style of all Cassavetes’s independently financed little features like “Shadows,” “Faces,” and “Husbands.”

At the time of making “Mikey and Nicky”, Falk and Cassavetes, I would say, were at the top of their game. Since 1968, Falk had been starring in his own popular TV series Columbo, and during that same time, Cassavetes had made six indie films, two starring Falk, including “A Woman Under the Influence,” for which Cassavetes was nominated for an Academy Award as best director.

“Mikey and Nicky” is a two-man story of Nicky who, fearing his mobster boss is going to have him killed, reaches out to his old friend, Mikey for help. But then Nicky not only refuses to listen to Mikey, but also mocks and belittles him to the point where Mikey gives up on Nicky. But Mikey is not a good guy and has an agenda of his own.

Falk and Cassavetes do some high-wire acting here, where either or both of them could fall off at any moment. Too many of the scenes nearly come apart. Too many are long and a little tedious. But strangely they add up by revealing the two men and causing the viewer to care about them.

Is “Mikey and Nicky” a great film? Hardly. Is it an easy film to watch? No way. Is it worth a look? You bet.

(I would like to thank Juri of Pulpetti for reviewing this film a couple of weeks ago and for reminding me that despite being a fan of both Falk and Cassavetes, I had never seen it. “Mikey and Nicky” is a hard film to find, but there is a poor quality video of it currently on YouTube.)

(For more overlooked films, check out Todd Mason's blog.) 

8 comments:

  1. Elgin, Falk and Cassavetes were both good actors and I'm saying this even though I have watched, maybe, just two or three of their films. That is a shame considering they accounted for nearly 200 films and television.

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    1. Prashant – Thanks for reading the post. Falk and Cassavettes were both popular in the 1960s and 70s. I liked them both.

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  2. Always liked Falk. I was just telling someone the other day that their story reminded me of a good Columbo tale.

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    1. Charles – Falk was always a likeable actor, and Cassavettes was cool. Together on screen they looked like they were having a hell of a good time.

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  3. Thanks for your review, Elgin! Nice to hear of other opinions. I'm not sure, but I think I saw a slightly shorter version of the film.

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    1. Juri – I enjoy reading the varying reviews and comments on films and books. But mostly, I like learning about movies and novels I have not read, and too often, have never heard of. Thanks for visiting the blog and reading the post.

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  4. This is one of those films that, much as I admire all the participants, I reckon I would just find it depressing - which is a bit silly really, I know, but it has managed to keep me away from it all these years ...

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    1. Sergio – I does take work to stick with this movie. In a way, it is like modern jazz where I admire the players, even though I don’t like a particular tune, and will stick with them because they are going for something unusual.

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