Love and Rockets

Miracle Mile (Steve De Jarnatt, 1988)

2023 have proven to be a year where I still haven't uncovered everything the eighties has unleashed in terms of films which appeal to me. Steve De Jarnatt's thriller Miracle Mile (1988) is the latest example of this. It's not often when a film discovery has me dwelling on it days after the end credits have scrolled by.

De Jarnatt's script for Miracle Mile was completed in 1979 and spent much of its time in the eighties languishing around as one of Hollywood's greatest unmade films. The script was once considered for The Twilight Zone (1983) movie, but it never came to be. Big studios were interested in producing the film and offered a higher budget, but the changes they demanded would have ruined the tone and plot of the film. De Jarnatt managed to eventually helm his baby the way he wanted it, but at a much lower budget. The end result is a powerful and heart-wrenching film that deserves a spot in the Alternative Valentine's Day Movies list.

The film misleadingly kicks things off in the guise of your typical, vibrantly colourful, eighties rom-com where Harry (Anthony Edwards) meets Julie (Mare Winnigham) at L.A's  La Brea Tar Pits. It's love at first sight. Hitting things off so well, the two arrange late night date. In true film farce fashion, a power outage caused by Harry's discarded cigarette, leads to him oversleeping and missing the date. Well past the arranged rendezvous time, Harry dashes to Julie's place of work, an all-night diner,  and leaves a message for her via the payphone (because not everyone owned a mobile phone back then, kids) outside hoping she'll call back. What follows is the mother of all wrong numbers once he picks up the ringing phone: an impending nuclear strike is about to occur. 

Watching how events snowball out of control is part of the film's allure. It focuses on Harry and Julie's plight throughout the whole ordeal, but it certainly feels like some of the supporting characters have experienced their own personal hellish experiences between their first onscreen introductions and reappearances. There's also the recurring question whether the phone call scenario was all a random prank that Harry fell for. Indeed, Harry even doubts himself when he sees the cost of all the panic and hysteria that he has achieved spreading the news around L.A. like wildfire. What's even more remarkable is when the film eventually answers this all important question, the survival of the film's hapless couple becomes an even greater concern.

Miracle Mile (Phone Call Scene)

Steve De Jarnatt, 1988

 

Miracle Mile is an impressive, yet chilling film, blessed with a sublime score by Tangerine Dream. The switch from an apparent rom-com to apocalyptic thriller deliberately puts the viewer on the wrong footing. Each precious moment appears to happen in real time, with Harry being the main anchor point. Once the pivotal phone conversation rolls on screen, the film never lets go. It's an intense and compelling viewing experience - even after revisiting it a couple of days later. The neon-lit signs and colourful fashion choices might date it as an eighties film, but that's also applicable to the very real mind state of World War III kicking off at any moment. De Jarnatt manages to capture that latent woe and fear that we've been trying not to depressingly dwell on for much longer than a minute. Pitting that fear factor in the confines of a romance story is oddly riveting. The end result is a film that feels like a mash-up of After Hours (1985) with Threads (1984), which puts it amongst my fave films discovered this year. Much like Miracle Mile's onscreen couple eventually tieing the knot decades later, why did I leave it so long?