Miller's Crossing

Rating:
Summary: Only *Fargo* was better.
Review: And since *Fargo* was the best American movie in the 90's, I guess *Miller's Crossing* comes in number 2. Followed by *Barton Fink* . . . you get the idea.

It's always puzzling to me that the Coen brothers are so disdained within the critical community. Is it because they sense that Joel and Ethan are essentially ridiculing the entire medium? Oh don't get me wrong; they obviously love movies, and they make them better than anyone, but how is a film critic supposed to take the scene where Albert Finney goes ballistic with a never-ending stream of withering pellets on a pair of gangsters in his own bedroom? Critics know the Cohens are lampooning "sacred" film moments such as when Sonny Corleone gets obliterated at the toll-booth (to say nothing of Warren and Faye getting theirs back in '67). They know it, and they dislike it. We're told that they're too "cold", they're "pretentious", they're "mocking", they're ultimately not serious moviemakers. These are doubtless the same critics who used similar terminology in regards to Stanley Kubrick, but now that he's safely passed on, they can call him a "genius". Well, in any event, the Coens are better than Kubrick ever was (ok, *Lolita* was great), anyway. As for comparisons with *Goodfellas* -- there IS none. *Miller's Crossing* accomplishes more in 2 hours than Scorsese's bloated movie does in 3. The Coens are surgeons. No scene is wasted (statements about "stylistic tangents" to the contrary).

This movie's a masterpiece, dude. Has Jon Polito ever been better? For that matter, has Gabriel Byrne ever been better? (Was Jeff Bridges ever funny AT ALL until *Lebowski*? Et cetera.) Obviously, actors need masterful scripts. All too often, they don't get them. The Coens write masterful scripts. Watch *Miller's Crossing* and let the character development astound you. The theme of personal honor is rigorously pursued throughout, and the intricate plot is gravy. The Coens are the best American filmmakers since Orson Welles, and any film "critic" who says otherwise is just giving you the high hat.

Rating:
Summary: What's the Rumpus
Review: The Coen brothers are easily the best film makers working today, and with each new release they move closer to the top spot of all time. Selecting a favorite from among the brothers' films is difficult, but if I were forced to choose it would have to be "Miller's Crossing". This film is superb in every respect - writing, direction, cinematography, even music. The film's theme is honor among thieves, and the opening scene in which this theme is enunciated ("if you can't trust a fix, what can you trust?") is a classic. The Coen brothers' genius in creating memorable characters is displayed throughout; each of the major characters is a delight to watch: the cynical (and devious) Tom Regan, the vampish (and devious) Verna, the treacherous (and devious) Bernie Birnbaum, the sentimental (and murderous) Leo, the philosophical (and murderous) Johnny Caspar, the sadistic (and murderous) Eddie Dane (you may start to notice a pattern or two emerging); and even minor characters, such as Frankie and Tic-Tac, are sharply drawn and brought vividly life. And nobody writes better dialogue than the Coens (Tom: "[Rug was] not a bad guy, if looks, brains, and personality don't count." Verna: "You'd better hope they don't.") If one were so inclined, one might describe "Miller's Crossing" as a post-modern exercise in cinematic revisionism, an ironic deconstruction of the traditional gangster film in which the Coen brothers take the elements of the genre and assemble them into a decontextualized parody which emphasizes surfaces and shapes: the fedoras, the cashmere overcoats and leather gloves, the smoking tommy guns with limitless magazines, the cigarette (no filters please) and the whisky bottles and the vintage autos. But why would one want to do that? The Coen brothers defy facile categorization of every kind and just continue producing one masterpiece after another. "Miller's Crossing" is their best; don't miss it.

Rating:
Summary: I bet you think you raised hell.
Review: The best movie,...ever! Brilliant! Brilliantly acted by Mr. Burns, and also Mr. Turturro. And hats off to Joel and Ethan, they produced, directed, and yes, wrote one of the best movies I've ever seen. Five stars isn't enough!

Rating:
Summary: #1 Mob flick. Period.
Review: This is the best mob/gangster flick ever. Godfather nothing.

Rating:
Summary: My favorite movie
Review: In my opinion, not only the best Coen brothers film, but my number one favorite movie. It is so packed with subtleties of imagery and dialogue that I notice something new every time I see it (and I try not to see it too much). For that same reason, it is a film that takes a few viewings to really appreciate. The first time I saw it I was a little overwhelmed with all the information, especially the fast-paced dialogue. I probably missed 10% of what was said. My second viewing was sheer joy, my third....you get the idea.

The only negative aspect of this movie is that near the end there is an incredibly violent scene (both psychological and graphic) in Caspar's office that is too 'over-the-top'for my taste. I've gotten over it, but friends who've seen it have also complained about this scene.

...So the film is only 99.8% perfect.

Rating:
Summary: The Coen Brothers Masterpiece
Review: You know two things when you sit down to watch a Coen Brothers movie:

(A) You're going to like it, immensely

(B) You've never seen anything like it

Such is the case with Miller's Crossing, categorizable because it's a gangster film, but that's about it. Everything else is completely original, completely Coen-like. The story revolves around Tom (Gabriel Byrne) and his calculated gamble of playing both sides of the city's (I don't believe the name of the city is ever mentioned) organized crime underworld. Initially Tom is a trusted right hand man in the Irish mob, but power starts to shift toward the Italians. So Tom tries to see how things are gonna turn out. Then the Irish boss finds out that Tom has been sleeping with his girl and pushes Tom over to the Italians. But nothing with the Coen brothers is ever that simple. Filled with incredible acting, a highly original story, extreme gang related violence (pay particular attention to Albert Finney's midnight stroll with a Tommy Gun!) For fans of intense and riveting moviemaking Miller's Crossing is a film not to be missed.

Rating:
Summary: Still the Coen's best film.
Review: I'm going to keep this short. This remains the Coen's best film. Dialogue, storyline, direction and acting do not get much better than this. Now, why isn't it out on DVD with a whole bunch of extras??

Rating:
Summary: Greatest gangster and Coen Bros. movie ever!
Review: This movie far surpasses any gangster movie ever produced. Sorry to say, but it pulls ahead of such greats as Godfather, Goodfellas, Meanstreets, Scarface, etc. The script is absolutely brilliant, the direction impeccable, the cinematography stunning. I was entranced by this movie from start to finish. Absolutely unparalleled! The humanism it brings to the gangster movie genre has never been accomplished before. One really has the feeling that the characters are real people, unlike so many gangster flicks where the characters often have a distant unreal quality to them. The only other gang flick that comes to mind that might compete with the humanistic character quality is Donnie Brasco, and although a great film, it does not compare to Miller's Crossing and stands below Goodfellas and Godfather. SEE THIS MOVIE NOW, and be enthralled!

Rating:
Summary: The Coen's Best
Review: The Coen Brothers continue to amaze me. I have not been dissapointed by one movie of theirs. The ability to jump from the slightly surrealistic drama of Barton Fink to the downright hilarity of The Big Lebowski (perhaps the funniest film ever made) leaves me in awe. But Miller's Crossing is where it all comes together to form their most cohesive effort. Nothing is flawed in this movie. It is, in a word, perfect. The first time I saw this, I watched the 'Danny Boy' sequence three times. I remember smiling and thinking that nothing could ever cinematically top that. Beautiful.

Rating:
Summary: Hats off to the Coens
Review: Hats. It's all about the hats.

I haven't seen this much attention paid to headwear since the Indiana Jones movies. "What gives?" I ask myself every time I watch it. The final poetic image we see over the opening credits is of a fedora blown across an autumn clearing. Then, Gabriel Byrne (Tommy) goes to Marcia Gay Harden's (Verna) apartment, to retrieve his hat that he lost to her in a poker game the night before. Needless to say, that's not all he came for. From here, the action spins off into a labyrinthine series of crosses and double-crosses, where you never know whose allegiance is with whom.

So what do we make of all these hats? My take is that this movie is about men who know how to exist within the rules of a certain world, that of Prohibition-era mobsters. But everyone here is flawed, enough so that their judgement is clouded and at times they forget why those rules are in place. Tommy is a wise lieutenant in the Irish mob, but he has a dangerous gambling habit (and is currently in the middle of a slump) and his hat offers disguise from would-be collectors. Johnny Caspar, head of the Italian mob, is constantly telling people that he's "sick a gettin' the high hat," a reference to the lack of respect he's afforded. But does he really deserve that respect? Probably not, since he doesn't even have the sense to cover his shiny bald head with a stylish chapeau. (*There's a moment where someone refers to Johnny as 'Giovanni Casparro', a reference to his necessarily hidden heritage and an example of the details the Coen's throw in as a reward for an attentive audience*) And if we want to stretch the theme to its limits, a mobster, dead in an alley, has his toupee lifted by a curious kid and his dog. His friends later misinterpret this as a sign of disrespect, and it pushes the impending turf war to the brink. So the hat covers the head, just as the flaws of these powerful men cloud their good sense. It's either that, or a typically stylish Coen red herring. Frankly, I'm such a fan of their movies that either answer will suffice.

If you are generally put-off by the Coen's movies, by their ludicrous non-sequiters that amount to little more than stylish tangents, I implore you to check out two scenes here that are picture perfect in conception and execution. The first is the opening scene in Albert Finney's (Leo) office. Johnny Casper has come to him ostensibly to ask for a favour, but really to talk of 'ethics'. We get our first glimpses into the hatred between these two men, and their respective henchmen, Tommy and Eddie Dane. Even though the scene is dialogue heavy and for the most part quite civil, the Coen's manage to throw in many other subtle hints as to the incivility that is to come. The second scene has Leo surviving a hit, when the mobsters sent to kill him accidentally set fire to the first floor of his house. Leo feels the heat (literally and metaphorically), and manages to get the jump on his attackers. There is one great shot here, where cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld manages to show the floorboards in Leo's bedroom actually warping from the heat. It's a shining example of his work throughout the movie. Both of these scenes are simple and economically, fitting perfectly into and advancing forward the plot.

All the actors here are top-notch, managing to portray these flawed men with the right mixture of charisma and world-weariness. Albert Finney, Jon Polito, J.E. Freeman, and John Turturro are the standouts. Turturro has some of the best moments. First when he begs for his life, and then when he cynically tries to quote his begging to save himself again. And Gabriel Byrne, an actor who I very rarely like, is perfect. He is asked to carry the movie, and he does a fantastic job.

'Miller's Crossing' is not cold and pretentious, as its reputation usually states. I admit that the Coen's fall into that trap sometimes. But not this time. Here, they've crafted a tightly plotted and suspenseful movie that never wastes a moment of its time, or of yours.