People give respect to give respect to Scorsese's "Casino", to "Taxi Driver", to "Mean Streets", they give respect to "The Godfather" and a whole slew of gritty organized crime movies. But I've never heard a single mention of this movie. Thankfully, people have been coming slowly around to Cassavetes-directed movies, but seldom, if ever, have I heard anyone compliment this movie for which Cassavetes is only credited for his acting. The silence regarding this movie is ridiculous, because of how great this movie is. It's so pure, it's so rough, it makes "Mean Streets" look big budget. The director, the comic-timing pro Elaine May, is a genius to let the actors do their thing, because they are legendary actors and to get too involved would ruin the chemistry. I think it's wise to go into this movie without knowing too much except maybe the names of the two leads and the director, and that the whole production is amazing without being perfect.
64 Reviews
And it's your best friend that does it...
ElMaruecan8225 April 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I'll borrow a line from a French movie theorist named Vincent Amiel who said that a lasting career can do a lot to a film's legacy. Had May had the career of Scorsese, the film would have been as highly regarded as "Taxi Driver". I agree. Many New Hollywood movies were also flushed into oblivion because they had no De Niro or Pacino.
Still, atching a New Hollywood movie is like wandering at night in a deserted street and contemplating the decline of civilization in an urbane purgatory made of bars, pimps, police sirens and walking through that moral dumb, you bump into remains of inner poetry as casually as your foot steps on a cigarette butt or bump into an emptied beer can. "Mikey and Nicky" is one of these New Hollywood gems, directed by comic writer/director Elaine May.
This is a film that doesn't offer much to look at except the sight of two worn-down old friends going from various points of the city during a rather night. Nicky (John Cassavetes) is trying to escape from the mob, he knows a contract's been put over his head as his old accomplice is as dead as Dillinger. Hiding like a cornered rat in a flea-bitten motel, he calls the only person he can trust, his old buddy Mikey (Peter Falk). It takes forever for the two men to be "framed" by the camera, Nicky sobs and cracks up with the only person who could see him so shattered. Eventually, Mikey convinces Mikey to pull himself together, have a shave, drink some cream to appease his ulcer and get the hell out of the hotel.
That's for the set-up. At that point I was hooked and at the same time worried, if these two men were friends already and the film was to consist of a cat-and-mouse chase with the hired killer Kinney (Ned Beatty), I'm not sure it could have maintained its rhythm and punchiness. But that was forgetting I was watching a Cassavetes and Falk movie and the experience reminded me of the days I was anticipating every new movie from the indie icon with thrills and excitement. The last classic Cassavetes I had seen was "Minnie and Moskowitz" so basically it took me 8 years to rediscover the spice of unpredictability and pre-written improvisation that govern his movies. Oh, it's an Elaine May movie alright but it's the closest to a Cassavetes' film I ever saw, one can even see it as a "Husbands" without Ben Gazzara.
Indeed, while Nicky is scared out of his wits and can beg for his life like a baby, he needs fresh air and gets out and then, he doesn't walk, he runs so fast that his friend can almost lose his track, that's pure Cassavetes, even men run like little boys playing, as if the possibility of death enhanced the exhilaration of life. And the personality of Nicky gradually recovers life and unveils his more complex, colorful and even at times disagreeable trait. There's something in Cassavetes that makes him so believable as a jerk and yet the film asks us to care for the life of someone who acted all his life and still acts like a prick, a man so self-absorbed he doesn't even show respect to the friend who's saving his skin... or is he?
Even that would've been too simplistic, they're two in the film and while I was seeing Mickey making constant phone calls and being genuinely annoyed when Nicky suddenly leaves one bar, starts a brawl in another, insults a bus driver or decides to visit a cemetery, I was wondering why I was lead to believe that Nicky is selling his friend. Ironically, the one answers our suspicion is Nicky. And if Mickey was to be a traitor, after all it's a mob picture and it's got to come from your best friend, maybe the point is to see the traitor redeeming himself and helping his friend after all, but Nicky isn't the kind of guy easy to like. Mikey is no saint either but Cassavetes is at his Cassavetest in a non-Cassavetes movie.
This is indeed the closest to his cinema-verité style a film could ever come to, a vitriolic friendship confronted to the imminence of death. Sometimes, both truly behave like they're on the run, looking for a place to hide or to be safe, sometimes, we can even tell that death offers them moments of insightful meditation, even a joke in a cemetery carries deep resonances. Finally, we have finally a last confrontation where Mickey lets his feeling out and comes to term with Nicky in an authentically disturbing moment that sealed the final act.
The two men couldn't afford fooling around like they did in "Husbands" yet this ws an unprecedented case that could only unleash the most buffoonish or savage sides of both, repressed during their mob years while their wives were waiting. This is a movie that feels conservative in its portrayal of women who are just enduring their men's shenanigans and wait at home, an even more unlikely move from a woman director. But that iconoclast New Hollywood thriller allowed the talented Elaine May to finally subvert the myth of male friendship, and justify the poster with the torn picture.
First, as I said, they were framed together, then they're playing hide and seek together, and the film swings between dual moments and others where we see them alone and out of reach, even ours. And that's the point, May shows two men who become out of each other's reach which culminates in the heart-pounding minutes where they're framed separately and the word 'framed' takes an even more poignant meaning for one of them.
In these years of sheer disillusions, there was no honor whatsoever among thieves and some could betray not out of greed, not out of threat but because they were nicknamed "the echo".
Still, atching a New Hollywood movie is like wandering at night in a deserted street and contemplating the decline of civilization in an urbane purgatory made of bars, pimps, police sirens and walking through that moral dumb, you bump into remains of inner poetry as casually as your foot steps on a cigarette butt or bump into an emptied beer can. "Mikey and Nicky" is one of these New Hollywood gems, directed by comic writer/director Elaine May.
This is a film that doesn't offer much to look at except the sight of two worn-down old friends going from various points of the city during a rather night. Nicky (John Cassavetes) is trying to escape from the mob, he knows a contract's been put over his head as his old accomplice is as dead as Dillinger. Hiding like a cornered rat in a flea-bitten motel, he calls the only person he can trust, his old buddy Mikey (Peter Falk). It takes forever for the two men to be "framed" by the camera, Nicky sobs and cracks up with the only person who could see him so shattered. Eventually, Mikey convinces Mikey to pull himself together, have a shave, drink some cream to appease his ulcer and get the hell out of the hotel.
That's for the set-up. At that point I was hooked and at the same time worried, if these two men were friends already and the film was to consist of a cat-and-mouse chase with the hired killer Kinney (Ned Beatty), I'm not sure it could have maintained its rhythm and punchiness. But that was forgetting I was watching a Cassavetes and Falk movie and the experience reminded me of the days I was anticipating every new movie from the indie icon with thrills and excitement. The last classic Cassavetes I had seen was "Minnie and Moskowitz" so basically it took me 8 years to rediscover the spice of unpredictability and pre-written improvisation that govern his movies. Oh, it's an Elaine May movie alright but it's the closest to a Cassavetes' film I ever saw, one can even see it as a "Husbands" without Ben Gazzara.
Indeed, while Nicky is scared out of his wits and can beg for his life like a baby, he needs fresh air and gets out and then, he doesn't walk, he runs so fast that his friend can almost lose his track, that's pure Cassavetes, even men run like little boys playing, as if the possibility of death enhanced the exhilaration of life. And the personality of Nicky gradually recovers life and unveils his more complex, colorful and even at times disagreeable trait. There's something in Cassavetes that makes him so believable as a jerk and yet the film asks us to care for the life of someone who acted all his life and still acts like a prick, a man so self-absorbed he doesn't even show respect to the friend who's saving his skin... or is he?
Even that would've been too simplistic, they're two in the film and while I was seeing Mickey making constant phone calls and being genuinely annoyed when Nicky suddenly leaves one bar, starts a brawl in another, insults a bus driver or decides to visit a cemetery, I was wondering why I was lead to believe that Nicky is selling his friend. Ironically, the one answers our suspicion is Nicky. And if Mickey was to be a traitor, after all it's a mob picture and it's got to come from your best friend, maybe the point is to see the traitor redeeming himself and helping his friend after all, but Nicky isn't the kind of guy easy to like. Mikey is no saint either but Cassavetes is at his Cassavetest in a non-Cassavetes movie.
This is indeed the closest to his cinema-verité style a film could ever come to, a vitriolic friendship confronted to the imminence of death. Sometimes, both truly behave like they're on the run, looking for a place to hide or to be safe, sometimes, we can even tell that death offers them moments of insightful meditation, even a joke in a cemetery carries deep resonances. Finally, we have finally a last confrontation where Mickey lets his feeling out and comes to term with Nicky in an authentically disturbing moment that sealed the final act.
The two men couldn't afford fooling around like they did in "Husbands" yet this ws an unprecedented case that could only unleash the most buffoonish or savage sides of both, repressed during their mob years while their wives were waiting. This is a movie that feels conservative in its portrayal of women who are just enduring their men's shenanigans and wait at home, an even more unlikely move from a woman director. But that iconoclast New Hollywood thriller allowed the talented Elaine May to finally subvert the myth of male friendship, and justify the poster with the torn picture.
First, as I said, they were framed together, then they're playing hide and seek together, and the film swings between dual moments and others where we see them alone and out of reach, even ours. And that's the point, May shows two men who become out of each other's reach which culminates in the heart-pounding minutes where they're framed separately and the word 'framed' takes an even more poignant meaning for one of them.
In these years of sheer disillusions, there was no honor whatsoever among thieves and some could betray not out of greed, not out of threat but because they were nicknamed "the echo".
Not without merit, though it eventually outstays its welcome
Wizard-819 May 2015
I decided to take a chance on this movie when I stumbled upon it in my neighborhood video store. I feel I should mention that I'm not a fan of Cassavetes' films, though I did know that he just acted in this movie and didn't write or direct. Cassavetes does give a good performance in the movie - in fact, all the other actors give good performances as well. Under the direction of Elaine May, the performances have a relaxed and unrehearsed feeling; at times I almost thought I was seeing real people caught by a hidden camera. May also captures the grit of an American city in the 1970s before things got cleaned up. Despite this good stuff, however, the movie eventually becomes somewhat tiresome. The Cassavetes character eventually becomes obnoxious and frustrating because we never really learn how he got into trouble. And after a time, you start to wonder where this thin story is going - you have to wait until the last half hour before the plot starts moving again. Not a terrible movie, but the script should have gone through a couple more rewrites before filming started.
Elaine May makes a Cassavetes film
drosse6729 August 2006
Viewers familiar with John Cassavetes' directing style will see his influence in this film, but Elaine May wrote and directed it. It is an engaging, highly unusual drama about two childhood pals mixed up with the mob. Don't expect Martin Scorsese or Francis Coppola glitz here---this movie is different. There is a real, uncinematic edge to it. It almost plays like a documentary, or a "reality movie." And the actors--Falk and Cassevetes were good friends and frequently worked together--allow for unique male-bonding (and a dissection of the male sex) that rarely occurs in modern film (another characteristic of a Cassavetes-directed film). Women are basically throwaway characters in many of his films, and that is the case here. This movie will either be an endurance test for audiences, or a fascinating experience. It was the latter for me.
Brilliant 70's Mobsters!
shepardjessica22 July 2004
This totally underrated classic (in my Top 10 of all time) directed by Elaine May a few years before it's release is unbelievably gritty and a sad comment on the "American Dream" even for small-time mobsters. John Cassavetes was never better as Nick, a paranoid, intelligent, and street-wise guy. Peter Falk is equally impressive as his friend Mike who has problems of his own. This was probably the best Cassavetes-like film that he DIDN'T direct, but very similar to his style.
A 10 out of 10. Best performance = John Cassavetes. a one-night (dusk to dawn) film that will grab you and never let go. Ned Beatty has an amusing supporting role, along with Sanford Meisner & William Hickey (well-known acting teachers). This movie never had a chance at the box office, but is now highly regarded in all circles. Don't miss it!
A 10 out of 10. Best performance = John Cassavetes. a one-night (dusk to dawn) film that will grab you and never let go. Ned Beatty has an amusing supporting role, along with Sanford Meisner & William Hickey (well-known acting teachers). This movie never had a chance at the box office, but is now highly regarded in all circles. Don't miss it!
MIKEY AND NICKY (Elaine May, 1976) **1/2
Bunuel197623 August 2006
Warning: Spoilers
A strange film to come from a woman film-maker and one best-known for comedy at that; its rough, intense quality makes it feel more like one of co-star John Cassavetes' own radical works and, in fact, around this same time made one of his finest films - THE KILLING OF A Chinese BOOKIE (1976) - which incidentally also deals with the trials and tribulations of a small-time crook (played by Ben Gazzara) who unwisely takes on the mob.
The film under review is buoyed by two excellent performances from Peter Falk and Cassavetes who, for the most part, are the only people on screen; however, Ned Beatty is also notable as a beleaguered hit-man.The film, however, can't make up its mind whether to be an existential neo-noir gangster melodrama or a perverse, eccentric inversion of a "buddy" movie!
Cassavetes' come-uppance at the very end is arguably the film's highlight and, interestingly, it was shot by veteran cinematographer Lucien Ballard who, among others, had previously shot THE RISE AND FALL OF LEGS DIAMOND (1960) a fine gangster picture and Budd Boetticher's Hollywood swan song. May herself would go on to direct just one more film, the unfairly maligned ISHTAR (1987; see review above); having watched her delightful debut, A NEW LEAF (1971; in which she also starred), I've only got THE HEARTBREAK KID (1972) left to catch up with (though I did miss a number of Cable TV screenings over here several years ago).
The film under review is buoyed by two excellent performances from Peter Falk and Cassavetes who, for the most part, are the only people on screen; however, Ned Beatty is also notable as a beleaguered hit-man.The film, however, can't make up its mind whether to be an existential neo-noir gangster melodrama or a perverse, eccentric inversion of a "buddy" movie!
Cassavetes' come-uppance at the very end is arguably the film's highlight and, interestingly, it was shot by veteran cinematographer Lucien Ballard who, among others, had previously shot THE RISE AND FALL OF LEGS DIAMOND (1960) a fine gangster picture and Budd Boetticher's Hollywood swan song. May herself would go on to direct just one more film, the unfairly maligned ISHTAR (1987; see review above); having watched her delightful debut, A NEW LEAF (1971; in which she also starred), I've only got THE HEARTBREAK KID (1972) left to catch up with (though I did miss a number of Cable TV screenings over here several years ago).
Can't be beat
jbels22 June 1999
The combination of Cassavettes, Falk and May cannot be beat. Scenes go on for ten to fifteen minutes long, but the dialogue is so smart and the acting so excellent that the film breezes by. Some of the best writing ever, and Falk is one of our greatest American actors. Hilarious scenes on the bus and in a graveyard are unforgettable. And Falk's nickname, "The Echo" is priceless. Must see.
The pleasant odor of whiskey and cigarettes .....
PimpinAinttEasy15 February 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Dear Elaine May,
your film is one which can be enjoyed for the actors alone. Peter Falk and John Cassavetes literally live their roles as a couple of lowlife gangsters. I could smell the always pleasant odor of whiskey and cigarettes coming off their bodies. Ned Beatty is terrific in a very restrained portrayal of an assassin. I noticed Emmet Walsh in a bit role as a bus driver.
You did a great job filming the empty streets, bars and run down hotels of Philadelphia. Frankly, so many filmmakers have exploited the gaudy and pensive beauty of America's cities - especially its underbelly. You've got to respect a country which gives so much space and opportunity to its depressed and crazy to destroy themselves. It is the sort of film which makes you want to drink a lot. Falk and Cassavetes are so stylish holding their drinks.
The fight scene in the black bar was so real and intense with all its suppressed violence. It could well have been directed by Scorsese. I read this was shot in the same year that Mean Streets (1973) released. There are so many similarities between the two lead characters of both films and the relationship between them.
I was not stunned by your film, Elaine. I found myself losing interest in the second half. Some of the scenes in the houses of the women went on for too long. The dialogs were indecipherable at times. The low key style does not always work. But I bet the likes of Jim Jarmusch were heavily inspired by this film.
I was thinking about Pulp Fiction when I saw the scenes with the references to the watch and Mikey's relationship with his father. Certainly, Tarantino ripped that off.
Anyway, I am surprised this was made by a woman.
Best Regards, Pimpin.
(7/10)
your film is one which can be enjoyed for the actors alone. Peter Falk and John Cassavetes literally live their roles as a couple of lowlife gangsters. I could smell the always pleasant odor of whiskey and cigarettes coming off their bodies. Ned Beatty is terrific in a very restrained portrayal of an assassin. I noticed Emmet Walsh in a bit role as a bus driver.
You did a great job filming the empty streets, bars and run down hotels of Philadelphia. Frankly, so many filmmakers have exploited the gaudy and pensive beauty of America's cities - especially its underbelly. You've got to respect a country which gives so much space and opportunity to its depressed and crazy to destroy themselves. It is the sort of film which makes you want to drink a lot. Falk and Cassavetes are so stylish holding their drinks.
The fight scene in the black bar was so real and intense with all its suppressed violence. It could well have been directed by Scorsese. I read this was shot in the same year that Mean Streets (1973) released. There are so many similarities between the two lead characters of both films and the relationship between them.
I was not stunned by your film, Elaine. I found myself losing interest in the second half. Some of the scenes in the houses of the women went on for too long. The dialogs were indecipherable at times. The low key style does not always work. But I bet the likes of Jim Jarmusch were heavily inspired by this film.
I was thinking about Pulp Fiction when I saw the scenes with the references to the watch and Mikey's relationship with his father. Certainly, Tarantino ripped that off.
Anyway, I am surprised this was made by a woman.
Best Regards, Pimpin.
(7/10)
Perfect buddy film, but with a heart (b/c it was written/directed by a woman)
stuarb26 January 2000
Dark, gritty and brilliant underrated/underseen buddy film. It's heart-string-tugging sensibility comes from the fact that it was written and directed by a woman (Elaine May), though in a near-perfect (and doubtlessly intentional) simulation of Cassavete's style. Falk & Cassavetes at the top of their respective & collaborative games.
7.4/10. Recommended but..
athanasiosze22 January 2024
This is a typical Cassavetes/Falk movie disguised as a crime/drama. Of course, anyone who believed this is something like COLLATERAL or a Scorsese gangster movie, is gonna be disappointed. The crime element and plot (Someone is after Cassavetes' character) is only a "MacGuffin" for Peter and John. The whole movie is about these two friends, they constantly argue/fight/talk and of course, there is a lot of improvisation here if i am not mistaken. This is a similar movie to HUSBANDS (1970), HUSBANDS is a superior movie though.
Only for a specific audience. For me, this is a very good movie but it's just my personal taste. Many people won't like it. These are unlikeable characters, i mean, Cassavetes' character seems almost unredeemable and Falk character did something that can't be excused. Furthermore, it seems reasonable to me for a moviegoer to not find anything interesting here. But if you are looking for something different, something real/raw/honest and you haven't heard of Cassavetes, maybe you will like it too.
Only for a specific audience. For me, this is a very good movie but it's just my personal taste. Many people won't like it. These are unlikeable characters, i mean, Cassavetes' character seems almost unredeemable and Falk character did something that can't be excused. Furthermore, it seems reasonable to me for a moviegoer to not find anything interesting here. But if you are looking for something different, something real/raw/honest and you haven't heard of Cassavetes, maybe you will like it too.
A nice tight character driven study.
sambsonwayfinder135 January 2005
A great film! Though I have yet to see any of Elaine May's other films, I find that this one quickly puts her on an eccentric list of directors. Anyone who's a Casavettes (or Falk) fan must see. A nice tight character driven study. Oddly enough; might be grouped with Wings Of Desire (Wenders) and Requiem For A Dream (Aronofsky); though without the mystical elements. In fact, anyone who appreciates Aronofsky (PI, Requiem, etc.) might find this rather satisfying. Understood there were continuity glitches, but found these to be rather endearing; though I'm unsure whether May intended these to be illustrative of certain a character mindset or not. If this were the case I could also see a certain brief parallel to Momento (Nolan), which also brings in Insomnia. If any of these references ring a pleasant bell, find this film; it's worth it.
E. May, P. Falk, J. Cassavetes
ksf-25 March 2021
Written and directed by one of my favorite people -- Elaine May! The awesome Peter Falk could play any role. With Cassavetes and Ned Beatty. Nick (Cassavetes) is hiding from the mob, in a hotel, and calls his buddy Mike (Falk) for help. Nick is sure that someone is out to get him. And apparently, they ARE ! It gets slow and annoying in the middle... do we really need to watch Peter Falk, as HE watches Nick make out with a girl... for about 10 minutes. They go all over the city, but Nick is loud and annoying, and picks fights everywhere they go. Beatty is Kinney, who seems to be out to get Nick. This one is a more serious drama/suspense film; doesn't have any of the humor that is all over New Leaf and Ishtar. Apparently, budget or ownership issues held up the release, which happened with several of the films in which Elaine May was a part. She seems to have a record of shooting too much film, but the finished, completed version always seems to come out fine (New Leaf, Mikey and Nicky) or maybe just okay (Ishtar... but i blame that on bad casting; Beatty was just wrong for the part). E. May was AWESOME in Small Time Crooks. But that was W. Allen.
Where user reviewers got it wrong...
frenchconnection19735 March 2021
This movie should be good... Cassavetes, Falk, Beatty, even a short appearance by M. Emmet Walsh.
NO. This movie is a pieced together time waster with long drawn out conversations in a room, in a diner or on the street. When these conversations happen, they are uninteresting and end in some frenetic action, and then go right back into another place and another drawn out conversation. It's like watching the same thing over and over again for the first 2/3 of the film. I don't know how anyone in their right mind could find this film that great. I feel cheated, to be honest.
NO. This movie is a pieced together time waster with long drawn out conversations in a room, in a diner or on the street. When these conversations happen, they are uninteresting and end in some frenetic action, and then go right back into another place and another drawn out conversation. It's like watching the same thing over and over again for the first 2/3 of the film. I don't know how anyone in their right mind could find this film that great. I feel cheated, to be honest.
A review of a ten star film
stephen niz19 August 2000
A list of best films-you-didn't see from the seventies and eighties could not be complete without a host of John Cassavetes films: THE KILLING OF A CHINESE BOOKIE (1976 - given thumbs down on release, lauded as a classic now), and LOVE STREAMS (1984) are just two overlooked gems. Likewise, the only reason you can make for anybody not seeing MIKEY AND NICKY (Cassavetes starred, but didn't write/direct) is that nobody heard of it.
I assume you have one of two reasons for reading this review. Either (a) you love the film and are looking for like-minded opinion; or (b) you stumbled upon it accidentally, in which case I shall put it as simple as possible: you gotta see it.
Mikey (John Cassavetes) sits in a shoebox hotel room, a price now on his head, scared stiff. In desperation he calls his gangster childhood pal Nicky (Peter Falk) to help him get out of town.
A synopsis doesn't cover the density of the film. Two fragile male egos rebound off each other as the leads recall just why they love and hate each other so much. I cannot think of a better casting move than coupling Cassavetes and Falk. Good friends in real life, and frequent collaborators, they bring an intimacy to the film rarely seen elsewhere.
Within the first half-hour it dawns on the audience that engrossing as the story is, the outcome is not the most important aspect. Director Elaine May draws strength from the honesty of the characters. Her handling is at once compassionate and even-handed. The result: the characters are likeable for all their flaws.
It resonates more and more every time you watch it, enough for me personally to consider it will be a major influence on anything I might have the chance to film in the future.
The passing of Cassavetes was heartbreaking, the casual neglect of his output just as much so. If you don't know much about the man who took Scorsese under his wing, take the time today to investigate. Elaine May went on to make ISHTAR. Sadly, she hasn't directed since.
MIKEY AND NICKY is one of the greatest American films ever made.
I assume you have one of two reasons for reading this review. Either (a) you love the film and are looking for like-minded opinion; or (b) you stumbled upon it accidentally, in which case I shall put it as simple as possible: you gotta see it.
Mikey (John Cassavetes) sits in a shoebox hotel room, a price now on his head, scared stiff. In desperation he calls his gangster childhood pal Nicky (Peter Falk) to help him get out of town.
A synopsis doesn't cover the density of the film. Two fragile male egos rebound off each other as the leads recall just why they love and hate each other so much. I cannot think of a better casting move than coupling Cassavetes and Falk. Good friends in real life, and frequent collaborators, they bring an intimacy to the film rarely seen elsewhere.
Within the first half-hour it dawns on the audience that engrossing as the story is, the outcome is not the most important aspect. Director Elaine May draws strength from the honesty of the characters. Her handling is at once compassionate and even-handed. The result: the characters are likeable for all their flaws.
It resonates more and more every time you watch it, enough for me personally to consider it will be a major influence on anything I might have the chance to film in the future.
The passing of Cassavetes was heartbreaking, the casual neglect of his output just as much so. If you don't know much about the man who took Scorsese under his wing, take the time today to investigate. Elaine May went on to make ISHTAR. Sadly, she hasn't directed since.
MIKEY AND NICKY is one of the greatest American films ever made.
The last night of a man at the end of his rope
Woodyanders2 July 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Antsy small-time bookie Nicky (superbly played with jolting intensity by John Cassavetes) hides out in a hotel after he steals money from a local mobster. Nicky calls on his old chum Mikey (Peter Falk in peak amiable form) to bail him out of the jam he's now in.
Writer/director Elaine May relates the simple, yet still absorbing story at a deliberate pace, offers a vivid and compelling evocation of a really sad and sordid criminal underworld, grounds the premise in a plausibly drab workaday reality, and presents a fiercely incisive and affecting exploration on male friendship, with a specific emphasis on the themes of trust, loyalty, and betrayal. Moreover, May manages to see the poignant wounded humanity in the two deeply flawed main characters, who alternate between being sympathetic and repellent throughout.
Falk and Cassavetes both do sterling work in their roles, with Cassavetes in particular astutely nailing the paranoid desperation of a frightened man who's doomed and knows it. In addition, there are fine supporting contributions from Ned Beatty as rather bumbling businesslike hitman Kinney, Rose Arrick as Mikey's concerned wife Annie, Carol Grace as meek doormat Nellie, William Hickey and Sanford Meisner as a couple of weary mob capos, Joyce Van Patten as Nicky's fed-up estranged wife Jan, M. Emmet Walsh as a huffy bus driver, and Peter R. Scoppa as an anal diner counterman. Victor J. Kemper's stark cinematography further adds to the overall gritty reality. The occasional outbursts of sudden violence pack a startling punch. The downbeat ending is likewise positively devastating. Not an easy film to watch at times, but an impossible one to forget.
Writer/director Elaine May relates the simple, yet still absorbing story at a deliberate pace, offers a vivid and compelling evocation of a really sad and sordid criminal underworld, grounds the premise in a plausibly drab workaday reality, and presents a fiercely incisive and affecting exploration on male friendship, with a specific emphasis on the themes of trust, loyalty, and betrayal. Moreover, May manages to see the poignant wounded humanity in the two deeply flawed main characters, who alternate between being sympathetic and repellent throughout.
Falk and Cassavetes both do sterling work in their roles, with Cassavetes in particular astutely nailing the paranoid desperation of a frightened man who's doomed and knows it. In addition, there are fine supporting contributions from Ned Beatty as rather bumbling businesslike hitman Kinney, Rose Arrick as Mikey's concerned wife Annie, Carol Grace as meek doormat Nellie, William Hickey and Sanford Meisner as a couple of weary mob capos, Joyce Van Patten as Nicky's fed-up estranged wife Jan, M. Emmet Walsh as a huffy bus driver, and Peter R. Scoppa as an anal diner counterman. Victor J. Kemper's stark cinematography further adds to the overall gritty reality. The occasional outbursts of sudden violence pack a startling punch. The downbeat ending is likewise positively devastating. Not an easy film to watch at times, but an impossible one to forget.
Serious Drama With A Touch Of Gangster Crime in it.
james3620014 November 2001
My reason for wanting to see this film was because Rueben Greene (from the film "The Boys In The Band" [1970]) was in it. Boy, was I in for a treat. This film starring John Cassavetes and Peter Falk with Ned Beatty is a serious crime drama with a touch of gangster crime in it. May have been one of those films you saw years ago on a late night local independent tv station during a rainy night. This New York style/late-night feel film is played straight without the cheesy music in the background. Every sound you hear is real, the dialing of a rotary phone, footsteps, background chatter, the street, is all authentic as filmed. This is a good 1970's film. Wonderfully written and directed by Elaine May, who you may remember acting with Walter Matthau in the films "A New Leaf" (1971) and "California Suite" (1978). Adults Only.
It never picked up for me, and I really don't think this is May's best work.
redcrossaint17 April 2022
Mikey and Nicky (1976)
2.5/4
Elaine May is a woman of extreme talent. She knows dialogue very well; she is one of the best writers in film. But where I think her talents fall short is her 1976 effort 'Mikey and Nicky'. Personally, I think this movie would be better on the stage than the screen; so much of it is talking and acting to the camera, and not really much else. There really isn't a located plot either. I found this movie to ramble on and on from scene to scene, and thought that it failed immensely as sharp, edged entertainment like some of Elaine May's other work. While I have to admit that the two leads are very good when they're on the screen, I found this movie, unlike other movies with John Cassavettes and Peter Falk, to be curiously boring and uninteresting.
The film follows Nicky (John Cassavettes), on the run from the mob, as he turns to his old friend Mikey (Peter Falk) for desperate help.
The plot has lots of twists and turns, but none of them really come unexpected. Unfortunately, this movie isn't able to tread any new ground, and you can't stand the characters. While, yes, it's true, the two leads do have chemistry, and the dialogue is well written by Elaine May, but it never goes anywhere. This is a fascinating experience for me, everyone I know who's seen this movie really likes it and or loves it, except for me. I can understand why people can like the movie, but not love it.
I think the best part of Mikey and Nicky is Elaine May's dialogue, because that's what makes the performances good. But what I don't think works is the tired approach to the story, which isn't anything but predictable. Elaine May may have taken an interesting risk here; but, unfortunately for me, I think she failed. 'Ishtar', I think, is still a better showcase of May's talents, because that movie has everything that this movie tried and failed at - an interesting direction, some good acting from Hoffman and Grodin, and lovable characters.
2.5/4
Elaine May is a woman of extreme talent. She knows dialogue very well; she is one of the best writers in film. But where I think her talents fall short is her 1976 effort 'Mikey and Nicky'. Personally, I think this movie would be better on the stage than the screen; so much of it is talking and acting to the camera, and not really much else. There really isn't a located plot either. I found this movie to ramble on and on from scene to scene, and thought that it failed immensely as sharp, edged entertainment like some of Elaine May's other work. While I have to admit that the two leads are very good when they're on the screen, I found this movie, unlike other movies with John Cassavettes and Peter Falk, to be curiously boring and uninteresting.
The film follows Nicky (John Cassavettes), on the run from the mob, as he turns to his old friend Mikey (Peter Falk) for desperate help.
The plot has lots of twists and turns, but none of them really come unexpected. Unfortunately, this movie isn't able to tread any new ground, and you can't stand the characters. While, yes, it's true, the two leads do have chemistry, and the dialogue is well written by Elaine May, but it never goes anywhere. This is a fascinating experience for me, everyone I know who's seen this movie really likes it and or loves it, except for me. I can understand why people can like the movie, but not love it.
I think the best part of Mikey and Nicky is Elaine May's dialogue, because that's what makes the performances good. But what I don't think works is the tired approach to the story, which isn't anything but predictable. Elaine May may have taken an interesting risk here; but, unfortunately for me, I think she failed. 'Ishtar', I think, is still a better showcase of May's talents, because that movie has everything that this movie tried and failed at - an interesting direction, some good acting from Hoffman and Grodin, and lovable characters.
Mikey and Nicky is a tour de force
koponens6 April 2008
This film stuck with me for a few days. Peter Falk (Mikey) and Cassavetes (Nicky) give powerful performances and the film makes one wonder 1) if Mikey intends to go through with his dirty job all along and 2) while Nicky seems to know intellectually that it is likely that his friend could betray him, does he believe it or not? When Nicky spontaneously takes Mikey to his mother's grave, it seems that it is not really to pay respect to his mother before he dies but rather to remind his friend that death is final and that if Mikey kills him he'll be killing an irretrievable part of his past. Nicky yells out, "Mom, if anything happens to me Mikey did it!!" This seems to force Mikey to think a bit more deeply about the job he's embarking on; it won't be so easy for him to see his job through to the end. But near the film's end, Mikey tells his wife a story from his childhood that Nicky had reminded him of in the graveyard--does Mikey tell his wife the story as it really happened? The film leaves room for interpretation, but one thing is clear; the night that Mikey and Nicky spend together they are both forced to face their shmuckhood--- not something that either of them are very good at. A must see, especially for Falk and Cassavete fans.
Raw Ramblings of Two Hoods On the Lam...Neurotic, Tense & Claustrophobic
LeonLouisRicci4 May 2017
Interesting but Ultimately and Art Film Showcasing Two Method Actors, John Cassavetes who uses Method Acting as a Whole New Method, and Peter Falk Professionally Playing along with what Writer/Director Elaine May and one Assumes Cassavetes had in Mind.
It's All in the Mind and We get to Penetrate the Craniums of Two Small Time 1970's Hoods on the Lam in what amounts to a Couple of Blocks in the Big City. The Character Study takes place in less than 24 Hours and the Two Hour Running Time is a Tense, Claustrophobic, Anxiety Riddled Atmosphere of much Rough Housing and Verbal Sparring.
The Two are Not too Bright so the Banter is Raw and Reveals very Little as the Screenplay makes Pretensions to Say A Lot Without Saying much. Words and Phrases are Repeated Endlessly (is there an echo in here?) The Whole Thing becomes an Exercise in Frustration, Fighting, Wrestling, Pawing, Slapping, Ball-Busting, and Betrayal.
Ned Beatty Shows Up in the Third Act as the Antagonist as the Conclusion is Opened Up somewhat for Ventilation but the Air has been Sucked Out of this Thing Long Ago and Replaced with Stagnant Carbon Dioxide from the Constant Back and Forth Bickering.
Overall much Too Long to Sustain this amount of Close-Up Scrutiny, Watching and Listening to these "Real" Low-Lifers. Worth a Watch for Fans of the Actors and the Cassavetes No Frills Film-Making Format that the Female Writer/Director Emulates and seems to be making an Homage.
It's All in the Mind and We get to Penetrate the Craniums of Two Small Time 1970's Hoods on the Lam in what amounts to a Couple of Blocks in the Big City. The Character Study takes place in less than 24 Hours and the Two Hour Running Time is a Tense, Claustrophobic, Anxiety Riddled Atmosphere of much Rough Housing and Verbal Sparring.
The Two are Not too Bright so the Banter is Raw and Reveals very Little as the Screenplay makes Pretensions to Say A Lot Without Saying much. Words and Phrases are Repeated Endlessly (is there an echo in here?) The Whole Thing becomes an Exercise in Frustration, Fighting, Wrestling, Pawing, Slapping, Ball-Busting, and Betrayal.
Ned Beatty Shows Up in the Third Act as the Antagonist as the Conclusion is Opened Up somewhat for Ventilation but the Air has been Sucked Out of this Thing Long Ago and Replaced with Stagnant Carbon Dioxide from the Constant Back and Forth Bickering.
Overall much Too Long to Sustain this amount of Close-Up Scrutiny, Watching and Listening to these "Real" Low-Lifers. Worth a Watch for Fans of the Actors and the Cassavetes No Frills Film-Making Format that the Female Writer/Director Emulates and seems to be making an Homage.
Siamese Symbiosis
lucifer_over_tinseltown30 April 2020
Sure John Cassavetes didn't direct this film, but his fingerprints and ethos cover it from nose to tail. Cassavetes and Falk powerfully portray a great love rarely depicted in film...the heterosexual, wholly platonic love between two men, then the ineluctable break-up. The two magnificent actors were the best of friends/fiends in real life, maybe this explains the Siamese symbiosis they share on the screen. Cassavetes, equally adept with acting as he was with directing, logs one of his most powerful and emotionally honest performances as the desperate, unmade bed of a man that is Nicky. Falk provides a perfect foil of levity and level-headedness as Mikey. Beautiful losers. The film has that gritty, realistic, improvised feel that Cassavetes' best films all had. A minor masterpiece.
Underseen
alansabljakovic-390442 March 2020
the best gangster film ever (it's not even a gangster film)
pilgrip2 January 2008
Elaine May and Cassavetes together. What a piece of work. It's rough, it's deep. These goes beyond experimenting with genre. This a human piece on two friends and their selfishness, their bond. When Cassavetes goes to his mother's grave, in the dark, and yells: Mum, where the f*** are you? (because he can not find her grave) - he laughs. Falk is apologizing to the dead, but can not give a straight answer to his friend. So what's sacred? And John, off course - he laughs. Nuff said. Cassavetes knew more about life than all the dead combine together. Brilliant. It's just like one of films made by Cassavetes himself. I even heard that much of the creative input (credited by May) is by the master himself.
I guess the problem is the writing . . . .
SpartacusSuperBowl10 December 2020
Since this is written and directed by the same person, it's easier to theorize about why it doesn't really work. My vote is for the writing--as if Elaine May had some character dynamic she was exploring but couldn't develop to the point of clarity.
The scenes, played by a couple of very capable and interesting actors, develop the plot very slowly and tend to drag on, as if searching for that clear point or detail rooted in who they are and what's gone on between them (it seemed like they were getting close in the cemetery). Maybe these guys are based on real people the writer knew but didn't understand (that happens in life, but it makes for murky cinema), but they don't add up to a coherent character-based story.
Spartacus Super Bowl doesn't feel he wasted his time on this, just that it was more like reading someone's draft and not knowing how to comment constructively.
The scenes, played by a couple of very capable and interesting actors, develop the plot very slowly and tend to drag on, as if searching for that clear point or detail rooted in who they are and what's gone on between them (it seemed like they were getting close in the cemetery). Maybe these guys are based on real people the writer knew but didn't understand (that happens in life, but it makes for murky cinema), but they don't add up to a coherent character-based story.
Spartacus Super Bowl doesn't feel he wasted his time on this, just that it was more like reading someone's draft and not knowing how to comment constructively.
Two Rather Unlikeable Guys
boblipton23 September 2020
Bookmaker John Cassavetes has stolen money from the mob, and they've sent Ned Beatty to kill him. He calls his childhood friend Peter Falk and they wander downtown Philadelphia in the middle of the night.
Elaine May is supposed to have shot over a million feet of film and spent years editing and looking for the missing sound track. That sounds about right to me. The two leads sound like they're improvising their dialogue, and it's the talk of two not particularly interesting people. Cassavetes is a creep, and Falk seems to be a rather dull individual. Some flavor is added by actually shooting on the streets of downtown Philly, but not much.
Elaine May is supposed to have shot over a million feet of film and spent years editing and looking for the missing sound track. That sounds about right to me. The two leads sound like they're improvising their dialogue, and it's the talk of two not particularly interesting people. Cassavetes is a creep, and Falk seems to be a rather dull individual. Some flavor is added by actually shooting on the streets of downtown Philly, but not much.
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