I've just watched Midnight Run, a 1988 U.S. movie starring Robert De Niro. This has been my second viewing of the film. The last time I watched it was about 20 years ago when a female colleague of mine, a big De Niro fan, introduced me to it. I just thought the film was fun to watch back then: what a tasteless, brain-dead asshole I had been! The story is about the unlikely friendship that develops between Jack Walsh, an ex-cop turned bounty hunter played by De Niro, and Jonathan Mardukas, a.k.a. the Duke, an accountant on the run now in the hands of Walsh to be brought from New York to Los Angels.
The film is not just funny, humorous and entertaining but has some scenes of genuinely moving intimacy. For instance, I couldn't help my eyes filling with tears at one point where Walsh visits his ex-wife to ask for money, and her 8th-grade daughter, his daughter, just look at him for the first time after so many years. Well, this maybe because of my age, 57.
I always love to see the sarcastic way De Niro looks at an enemy, a buddy or whatever sitting or standing next to him, at an angle with his eyes just slightly narrowed, mixing contempt, ridicule, disbelief, anger, etc., and also a certain sense of admiration.
(Brushed-up by Chat GPT)
I just rewatched Midnight Run, the 1988 American film starring Robert De Niro. It was my second viewing—the first was about twenty years ago, when a female colleague and devoted De Niro fan introduced me to it. Back then, I simply thought it was fun. Looking back, I realize how much I missed; what a tasteless, brain-dead fool I was!
The story follows Jack Walsh (De Niro), a tough ex-cop turned bounty hunter, tasked with bringing Jonathan Mardukas—aka "The Duke," a mild-mannered accountant on the run—across the country from New York to Los Angeles. What begins as a tense manhunt slowly evolves into a nuanced, unexpected friendship.
The film is not only sharp and funny, but also surprisingly tender in places. One scene in particular moved me deeply: when Walsh visits his ex-wife to ask for money, and his estranged daughter—now in eighth grade—sees him for the first time in years. I found my eyes welling up. Maybe it’s my age (57), but that moment hit me hard.
And of course, there’s De Niro’s signature touch—those sideways glances he gives to enemies and allies alike, eyes narrowed just slightly, simmering with sarcasm, disbelief, contempt, and somehow, grudging admiration. It's a look that says everything without a word.
