MIDNIGHT RUN: A Juicy and Delicious Piece of Action Cinema

… who despises his own president, runs a restaurant, and, in his free time, acts in questionable, low-quality comedies. The origins of these last two facts should be traced back three decades, when, wanting a bit of a break from roles like Raging Bull, De Niro began looking for lighter material. This is how he ended up on the set of Midnight Run – a project from Universal Studios and Beverly Hills Cop creator Martin Brest, under whose guidance he took on his first purely comedic role.

– Have you heard of someone named Mardukas?
– The prince? Sure, I know who that is.
– What do you know?
– He’s an accountant who embezzled a bit of money from a guy in Vegas and gave it to the poor.
– The thing is, it wasn’t just a bit of money. It was 15 million. And this wasn’t just any guy, it was Jimmy Serrano.

This dialogue tells you absolutely everything you need to know about the plot without revealing too much. It marks the beginning of big trouble for De Niro – here, Jack Walsh, a former cop turned bounty hunter – who is tasked with bringing Mardukas to Los Angeles, for which he will receive a hefty check and finally be able to leave his crappy job and… open a restaurant. The catch is, he must do it within just a few days – before Friday midnight, when the bail expires – while avoiding FBI agents breathing down his neck, gangsters working for Serrano, informants, killers, and competition in the form of the unrestrained Marvin (played by the wonderful John Ashton, or Taggart from Beverly Hills Cop). However, the biggest pain in the neck turns out to be Jonathan Mardukas himself (played by the even better Charles Grodin, who later became famous for the Beethoven dog series). You know, opposites attract, and once you step in shit, the smell lingers for a while…

Originally written somewhat in the style of Lethal Weapon, with a script by George Gallo that cleverly combines several different genres, the project caught the attention of Paramount Studios, who initially wanted to make the film with… Cher, and later with the increasingly popular Robin Williams. Luckily (?), that didn’t work out, and the script ended up in the hands of Universal, who invested thirty-five million dollars into this two-hour, R-rated production and gave the team not only tickets to New Zealand (where all the river scenes were shot) but also complete creative freedom. This investment turned out to be a huge success. The result was a film that uncompromisingly combined witty adult cinema with pure, childlike joy, a sense of adventure, and a bit of comic-book exaggeration in the depiction of reality. However, it should be noted that this exaggeration doesn’t make our characters completely unrealistic, nor does it turn the entire plot into a caricature of the Blues Brothers’ antics. Sure, there are a few scenes where a little suspension of disbelief is required, but as a product of its time, Midnight Run never insults our intelligence, while offering plenty of entertainment and unrestrained fun.

Everything works here. From the central relationship between Jack and Mardukas – supposedly based on Gallo’s own parents – to the perfectly balanced action scenes, excellent dialogue filled with numerous, juicy “fucks” (a total of 119, by the way), and sharp-witted comebacks, to the subtle yet highly atmospheric and engaging audiovisual elements. The cinematography by the late Donald Thorne is generally in a cool tone similar to his work for Michael Mann in Thief and contrasts nicely with the urban landscapes of Chicago, New York, and neon-lit L.A. versus the vast emptiness of Arizona, Idaho, and Michigan. And Danny Elfman’s wild music, topped off with a fantastic rock song, is a real rollercoaster and sticks with you long after the credits roll. It’s also the only score he created in his entire career in such a wonderfully energetic, irresistibly catchy way.

The casting is perfect as well, without which the film would not have been as enjoyable to watch. Michael Chinich and Bonnie Timmermann did an excellent job, casting faces in even the smallest of roles that not only had the right characteristics but also real personalities. That’s why even the slightly clumsy duo of Serrano’s henchmen (Richard Foronjy and Robert Miranda) and the uncolored hair owner of the bar somewhere in the wilderness stick in your memory. Additionally, the secondary characters include veteran actors who are simply a pleasure to watch.

Yaphet Kotto, known from the first Alien and one of the 007 adventures, plays Alonzo Mosely, an FBI agent, and makes us laugh with his stone face and the constant frustration written all over it (which was certainly “helped” by the fever he had to deal with during most of the filming, making him probably the only person in the crew who doesn’t look back on that period fondly). Dennis Farina, the memorable Lieutenant Torello from Crime Story (once a real cop), fits perfectly on the other side of the fence and as gangster Serrano, literally has people eating out of his hand. One of them is Philip Baker Hall, who plays Sidney – which was the alternative title of Paul Thomas Anderson’s later film, where he played the lead role with the same, albeit with a “y” spelling, name. Finally, there’s the absolutely fantastic Joe Pantoliano – the police captain from Bad Boys and Cypher from The Matrix – who shines in the role of Eddie Moscone, constantly venting his frustration through the phone receiver to Jack’s boss.

Such a well-chosen, incredibly tight team allowed for numerous improvisations that are nowhere to be found in the script, but only add charm to the entire endeavor. A broken watch, a chicken dialogue, or the famous “litmus configuration” – these and other scenes are absolute gems that made it into the finished film (unlike a few other sequences visible in the first trailers). And all of this, despite De Niro’s immense perfectionism, who, to the frustration of poor Kotto, supposedly liked to repeat takes multiple times. But it’s hard to blame him when such ideas, as well as the final product they come together to form, have so much flair, imagination, and heart that it’s simply impossible not to like them.

Over eighty million dollars in domestic box office earnings (interestingly, it did better on foreign markets), two Golden Globe nominations (for the film and De Niro), three mediocre TV sequels with Christopher McDonald, and permanent scars on Grodin’s wrists from the real handcuffs he wore throughout the shoot. That’s the (not too overwhelming) legacy of Midnight Run. Almost forty years after its release, it remains alive among audiences, in its own way, cult.

Roger Ebert once wrote that it’s rare for this kind of film to end with such an intimate, emotionally charged scene that can make you cry. Impressed by Brest’s production, the critic added that Midnight Run simply deserved such an ending. I can only agree. After all, it’s a film that may not be outstanding, but it’s absolutely complete in every way. It’s hard to place it next to the greatest masterpieces featuring Bob De Niro, but honestly, it stands out better than many of them and is also one you’ll want to return to. Precisely because it remains sincere in every aspect.