Post by StevePulaski on Feb 25, 2014 17:52:10 GMT -5
Midnight Run (1984)
Directed by: Martin Brest
Directed by: Martin Brest
Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin in Midnight Run.
Rating: ★★★½
After viewing Martin Brest's Midnight Run, I think Robert De Niro has officially had too many "tour de force" performances to count. between Scorses's mob pictures, to his work in his immensely underrated directorial debut A Bronx Tale, Raging Bull, and now Midnight Run, the man consistently knows how to take his characters and make them not only fleshed-out and real but also infuse some exceptional character acting skills in there as well. With Midnight Run, he shows incredible leverage and energy as the main character, which is somewhat expected and equally unexpected given his age and his line of roles.
De Niro is only assisted by the likes of people like Charles Grodin, writer George Gallo, and director Martin Brest, who stuff Midnight Run's screenplay with about as much action, comedy, and intensity you can ask for. This particular project is what I like to say is taking a simple concept and doing all that can be done with it. Midnight Run wisely doesn't overextend and exhaust itself, but it finds ways to expand on the pure senselessness of its idea in an artfully comedic way, not to mention give us a hilariously antagonistic relationships between two men forced to be together, bound by greed and wrongdoings.
De Niro is Jack Walsh, one of those cops we can just look at and know how good he is at what he does. After being informed of a man named Jonathan "The Duke" Mardukas (Charles Grodin), an accountant who embezzled more than $15 million from a Chicago mob boss and how, if captured, will be worth a $100,000 reward. Walsh sees opportunity to finally open a business, and winds up nabbing The Duke early in the film (but not before snagging an FBI's identity in order to obtain more private records). Upon capturing him, Walsh assumes the hardest part of the gig is already done and plans to fly him back to L.A.. But after learning that The Duke has an obnoxious and severe fear of flying, the two must find an alternate route to their destination.
The event becomes akin to the Planes, Trains, and Automobiles of cop movies, with the two men who do not want to be in the company of each other trying to find a way back to their destination. The humor comes about with the adventures and pitfalls the reluctant duo encounter throughout the course of their trip. Remarkably, Gallo avoids structuring the film like a series of cheap, unfunny Saturday Night Live skits depicting the road trip from Hell. Instead, he makes sure to include character-relations and dialog in the film between Walsh and The Duke to allow the audience to connect to two individuals we really couldn't envision ourselves connecting with.
And yet, the other part of this strong relationship is thanks to the natural charisma and charm of De Niro and Grodin, who also brilliantly hold the film together to create an exceptional package of wit and hilarity to these inherently funny situations. Both actors possess an incredible amount of energy here and perform stunts that men half their age would likely struggle with. Consider the scene when one man steals a biplane and the others struggle to hold on and get the other out of the biplane. Or even the scene where The Duke tries to ditch Walsh by hopping aboard a freight train. Both scenes, among others, require ample amounts of energy on hand and De Niro and Grodin always seem to have enough at their disposal.
Then there's Brest, who has made a career out of directing action comedies for the most part. Brest likes to direct on something of a grandscale, emphasizing sizable action setpieces and using cityscapes (or, in this case, wide-open landscapes such as deserts) as his playground, more or less. His direction in Midnight Run is consistently clear and never muddled or choppy to the point where being able to decipher what is happening is something of a task. He films what he needs and makes it clear and accessible to the audience, which is one of the biggest challenges with action films.
But action-comedies are a different story in the regard that the high-octane scenes need to earn the title of "action" and the humorous and witty scenes need to adhere to the principals of "comedy." Through fun characters and unpredictable chase sequences, Midnight Run is a gem of its genre, with widespread talent across the board and a wonderful, playful sense that never makes it never too serious nor too slapsticky. Somebody show it to Brest, explain that, and get him back to work asap.
Starring: Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin. Directed by: Martin Brest.