Miracle Mile is the result of an 80s romcom getting a severe bout of nuclear fear. It’s a uniquely chilling thriller, combining the disparate elements of screwball romance with a paranoid conspiracy to create a beat-the-clock urgency that defies categorisation and expectations.
Jazz musician Harry (Anthony Edwards) meets and falls in love with Julie (Mare Winningham) while visiting Los Angeles, having spent an idyllic afternoon together. Julie rushes off to work and Harry returns to his hotel, with the pair arranging to meet that night.
But thanks to a bizarre proto-Final Destination cause-and-effect, Harry blows out the building’s electricity while napping, causing him to be hours late for their rendezvous. He leaves an answering machine message for Julie, before picking up a ringing call from a nearby phone booth. On the other end is an agitated man who warns of impending nuclear war scheduled in 50 minutes.
We think we know exactly where we stand with Miracle Mile. It initially seems like familiar romcom territory: a serendipitous meeting, a missed connection and a Tangerine Dream score, which is always a sure sign of quality. But writer and director Steve De Jarnatt takes a gamble with a drastic tone shift, one that could’ve risked a complete lack of purpose or a jarring viewing experience if unsuccessful.
Fortunately, Miracle Mile segues naturally from heartwarming love story into existential terror. It delivers a depressing reminder: while the fashion and technology tie the movie intrinsically to the 80s, the threat of nuclear annihilation is evergreen.
The two leads have great chemistry and a believably endearing relationship; the actors even got married in real life. Harry is likable, so by the time the phone call comes in we are fully invested in his survival (and his date with Julie).
Which is great, since Miracle Mile is told entirely from Harry’s perspective, and the audience is as undecided on the veracity of the phone call as he is. We are given plenty of chances to scoff at the implausibility, but enough doubt is sown to nag at our thoughts.
Harry crosses paths with a variety of characters, who each have gone through their own trauma, dipping in and out of the main storyline. It’s as if Miracle Mile is part of a larger portmanteau of which we are only permitted to see one section.
Take, for example, Wilson (Mykelti Williamson). Harry desperately flags down his car in return for details of the potential pending apocalypse, but Wilson’s story poses many more questions than it answers. He races off-screen to warn his sister, only to return later in dramatic circumstances that leaves your own fiendish brain to fill in the blanks.
When events turn dark, they are delivered with such wanton misanthropy that the whole movie gets turned on its head. Harry and Wilson get into an altercation with some cops at a gas station, but tempers aren’t the only thing combustible. One cop telling his partner to “get away from the pump” turns the scene into something horrifically unforgettable.
We’re then thrown into a chaotic final act that, 38 years on, is still heart-palpitating. Miracle Mile is the type of film that taps into a primal sort of terror, flash-burned into your memory long after the credits roll.
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Miracle Mile is available to rent in Australia, the UK and the US. In the US, it is also available to stream on Prime Video. For more recommendations of what to stream in Australia, click here