Screen/Society–“Mikey and Nicky” (1976) Elaine May

Mikey and Nicky  
(Elaine May, 1976, 119 min, USA, English and Hebrew, color, DCP)

Elaine May crafted a gangster film like no other in the nocturnal odyssey Mikey and Nicky, capitalizing on the chemistry between frequent collaborators John Cassavetes and Peter Falk by putting them on-screen together as small-time mobsters whose lifelong relationship has turned sour. Set over the course of one night, this restless drama finds Nicky holed up in a motel after the boss he stole money from puts a hit on him. Terrified, he calls on Mikey: the one person he thinks can save him. Scripted to match the live-wire energy of its stars—alongside supporting players Ned Beatty, Joyce Van Patten, and Carol Grace—and inspired by real-life characters from May’s childhood, this unbridled portrait of male friendship turned tragic is an unsung masterpiece of American cinema.

“A vivid, almost sensually rancid slice of 1970s cinema, a movie in which you can almost taste the sweat in the air.” Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian