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.

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.

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.

This is a great starting point for those interested in the acting career of the great John Cassavetes. Although the film isn't directed by him it still contains a lot of the realistic characters, emotions, and soul-searching dialogue that made him gain such a following. The music's a little off beat, but that doesn't distract from a truly touching and original crime/drama story.