Please don't spend money on this.

Nice effects though.

Excellent, a Must See

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

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.

This film tells the story of a problematic petty thief who falls in danger after a questionable dealing with a mob boss. With minutes behind his hit man, he asked his gangster friend for help to bail him out one last time. Ultimately, his awful behavior takes a toll to their friendship and he is left to bail himself on his own. I have read a lot of reviews putting it high regard (even comparing it to the likes of the Godfather films and Scorsese gangster flicks) but it just did not do it for me. I mean I like the performances in here. It feels very organic and realistic compared to Cassavetes's work which seems to be the main inspiration of the film but it leaves you kinda detached to it. It just did not setup its character to be there with you throughout the film that by the end you could not care less about them. To conclude, the film would forever be remembered for May's directorial antics and not by its own merits. [2/5]

A brilliantly acted film. Infantile John Cassavetes is a low level gangster who finds he has a contract on his head. He enlists the help of best friend Peter Falk. What transpires is a night of truth-telling and betrayals that does not end well for either of them. Elaine May wrote & directed this tough-as-nails expose and it's as far from THE HEARTBREAK KID as it could be. Falk & Cassavetes excel and the outstanding supporting cast includes Ned Beatty, Sanford Meisner (the legendary acting teacher making a very rare movie appearance), Joyce Van Patten as Cassavetes extremely angry wife and, in a shocking role, Carol Grace (aka Carol Matthau). The expert cinematography is by credited to Victor J. Kemper but appears to have been worked on by a number of people. May reportedly shot more than a million feet of film, leading to a battle with Paramount Pictures over how best to assemble & release this. May's 119 minute version is astounding.

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.