Mickey One (1965)

Director: Arthur Penn


Writer: Alan Surgal

Composer: Eddie Sauter

Starring: Warren Beatty, Alexandra Stewart, Hurd Hatfield, Franchot Tone, Teddy Hart, Jeff Corey, Kamatari Fujiwara

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Number One... In Excitement... In Drama... In Suspense...

Plot: A comic steals the identity of a homeless man and goes on the run after the mob tries to kill him for an unknown reason.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

I usually dig Beatty's work but he's part out of place and part mediocre.  I've always found his acting to hover close to one note but I really dig the tune.  Not this time.  Part of it is the story and some perhaps with the direction.  The film goes to some odd places that feel like Penn's trying to make this more than just a crime thriller of sorts.  He goes into bizarre territory with some scenes as if to make this an art house picture that transcends Hollywood but it didn't work for me because you also have to take into account of everything that surrounds those scenes and look at the picture as a whole.  I found it dull at times and sometimes outright drab.  I like the B&W photography and the jazzy score was good.  There's that, I suppose.  It's not compelling except for not knowing why Mickey is on the run from the mob.  He doesn't get far when he pushes the same questions.  There could be a better told story there somewhere but I didn't see it on the screen.