Mike's Murder

source: Mike's Murder

I hadn't seen this movie in about 30 years, but the title rang a bell and I got the DVD. The cast is excellent, and their performances were solid. I found myself remembering quite a bit of the film while viewing (I would know what was coming up before it came on screen), which made me realize this film had quite a profound impact on me and my memory. It was intense without being melodramatic.

The story of Mike's Murder might go under the heading of things better left undiscovered. Except of course by the police. But all Debra Winger knows is that the fabulous sex she had with her tennis instructor Mark Keyloun has left one big void and one big curiosity. Debra Winger gives lie to that notion that there are no good roles for women as she carries Mike's Murder on the back of her obsessed character. Winger is no superhero, she's an average ordinary working class female, a bank teller who thinks that she's found the love of her life and can't believe it was taken from her. Keyloun just can't make ends meet and pay the rent so he's into other activities some of them not so legal. He and his friend Darrell Larson started poaching on another drug dealer's territory and that kind of poaching can be bad for your health. Winger finds a lot more about Keyloun and the best scene in the film is with Paul Winfield, a rich older gay man who picked up Keyloun and keeps him for a while as his boy toy. As Winfield describes the relationship Winger's eyes and expressions are worth pages of dialog. There is also a frightening climax with Larson that I can't reveal the details of but it will rivet you. Mike's Murder is a great film and real triumph for Debra Winger.

With a poll coming up on IMDbs Classic Film board for the best movies of 1984,I decided to take a look at Warner Archive titles on Amazon Uk,and I spotted an overlooked Neo-Noir,which led to me getting ready to meet Mike. The plot: Receiving a phone call from her boyfriend Mike, Betty Parrish discovers that Mike has messed around with some local drug dealers,which leads to Parrish having to sort out a safe house for Mike.Finding himself penniless,Mike continues to secretly deal cocaine with his pal Pete. Nearing the completion of a big deal,Mike & Pete take advantage of their customers being temporarily disturbed,by secretly cutting one of the bags open,so that they can re-sell some of the coke.Thrilled about having stolen right under their clients nose,Mike gets set to spend some time with his girlfriend Parrish.As Parrish waits for her boyfriend to arrive,Mike discovers that he has been sniffed out. View on the film: Whilst the DVD sadly does not contain the (infamously) deleted footage,Warner Archive give the film a good transfer,with the presentation capturing the mix of film & video stock,and the added bonus of the trailer giving a tease as to what the movie could have been. Hacked to bits by the studio, (who replaced Joe Jackson's score with a shivering one from John Barry,and changed the original design for the plot to be played chronologically backwards) the ripped from the headlines (with the film being loosely based on the murder of a man involved in a drug cartel with 2 UCLA football players)screenplay by writer/director James Bridges still offers an easy-going mix of twenty somethings teen Drama and sun-set Neo- Noir.Bridges gives Parrish's love story light & fluffy notes which are counted by a disturbing normality to the coke epidemic about to take place,with Bridges showing Mike being unable to stop himself from going down a line filled with ruthless drug barons and two faced friends. Reuniting with James Bridges,the pretty Debra Winger does very well at showing Parrish lose her girlie innocence,thanks to Winger giving Parrish's romance with Mike a breezy atmosphere,which is hardened as Parrish discovers the secret life that Mike has been living.Whilst the flick was forced by the studio to sit on the shelf for a year,director James Bridges and cinematographer Reynaldo Villalobos stylish on location filming is able to still shine,due to Bridges & Vallalobos giving the movie a sunny appearance to match Parrish dream romance with Mike,which gradually sinks into a dark Neo-Noir world,as Parrish meets the people behind Mike's Murder.

...anything but - Smart industry personnel be they script, directors, producers, actor/actresses, set-property, agents, scribes - know the reality of the myth of ease per Los Angeles. The weather is the primer for the pump that has made the myth fact. LA is a very dangerous place for that very reason and this film does a great service in depicting what the naive step into to their own peril in assuming anything but that. Paul Winfield sympathy is so evident here for Debra Winger. The only real mystery is why she would be pulled to Mike to begin with - our boy Mike is a real fool who hangs with others because of the choices he's made already - got make some more scratch and I don't want to work hard for it. Great movie as noted the draw isn't so much 'Who dun it' as 'Don't be a fool, you've no idea who you are messing with!'

This movie is a must-see solely because it tackles the very issue that plagues some couples, the blurring line between infatuation and love. At the first part of the film, Betty and Mike have a wonderful time together, playing tennis, flirting. But then reality hits both of them, the incapability of Mike to stay dormant and immobile affects what they feel for each other (if ever it was love). He flees to his drug-dealing self knowing that it is the only way to satisfy both his need to earn and his desire to stay "fluid" and unchained to the norms of the society. (e.g. stable job) Inspite of that, they stay in touch, he, promising her that they would see each other again. They do, but it was all in vain because all they did was drive around and bring him to a place where he can hide for awhile (because of his troubles with drug-dealing). In this way, it kept the movie fresh, unknown and mysterious, making us yearn for more of their brief encounters. The film, in its entirety, leaves the audience in a state of "longingness". It strives to make us wait for the last moment of impact wherein Mike and Betty meet again face-a-face. It also pushes us to ask the question, "Are they going to meet again?", "Is it worth it to see each other?". For those who haven't yet watched the film, go and see it, it's worth seeing.

Debra Winger in one word in this movie: WOW! She looks amazing. 80s hair and that beautiful smile make this worth watching in itself. The story is a good one (a drug dealing "boyfriend" that the bad guys kill and Betty getting dragged into the whole mess) and the acting is well-done (wait till you see Paul Winfield!). Decent mid-80s-type soundtrack with those kinds of tunes you heard once and forgot. And Debra Winger looking great! If you can't catch it on the cable movie channels, rent it. An inexpensive flash-back with no side effects.

Who the hell is anybody kidding? Some people say that this movie stinks? Get the hell out of here! Without a doubt, this movie was one of the best films Hollywood ever put out. From the first scene of intrigue, to the last moments of hell-raising ice-chilling fear, no sane person can say that this movie didn't scare the hell out of them! When watching this movie, you don't know "what the hell" will happen next. Debra Winger's subject is someone you just can't help but feel sorry for. She's kept totally in the dark about her love interest's real profession, and past times. And when you finally see, and feel, what truly kind of low-life bastards that really do infest the drug trade, a world that I unfortunately do know something about, you'll see for yourself that this film is very realistic and an absolute heart-stopper! You will not be disappointed!

This movie is compelling because the character of Betty is so innocent about what is going on in this murky tennis coach. It makes it easy to see how a normal person could find themselves in way over their heads without knowing it. The kitchen scene with the pal of Mike's who manages to get away from the bad guys is gut wrenching. Debra Winger has never gotten the breaks that she richly is due. I feel that it is compelling that the late Bette Davis stated that of the new actresses that Ms Winger was the most like her and I don't think that she was merely referring to their bad press.

My experience with this film differs from some of those who seem to be objecting to both the plot and the cast. I thought the idea of a 20's something woman who immerses herself in a quasi-relationship with a person on the fringe of society to be interesting. Winger turns in a terrific performance. Part of the human experience or journey is that one encounters difficult moments in one's life - including anticipating relationships one wants desperately to work out. Betty is in the unfortunate position of having to view Mike from afar as the latter is caught in a nightmarish world of drugs and deceit. I found Mike's drug partner in crime very compelling. One had a real sense of dread and doom as he tried to "make-up" for an irredeemable mistake. Paul Winfield is spot on as the record producer who has also suffered a loss. All in all, what we have here is a subtle film which is compelling and which a typical focus group would probably pass over. One good example of why film producers and directors should stay away from them and let their artistic visions guide their actions.