Miller's Crossing

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Summary: THE THINKING MAN'S MOB MOVIE
Review: Most people will let the titles "GOODFELLAS", "THE GODFATHER (I & II)", "ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA" and "THE UNTOUCHABLES" roll off their tongues when asked what their favorite movie is in the "mob" genre. Although seldom mentioned, "MILLER'S CROSSING" must take its rightful place alongside the above as one of the definitive treatments of gangster dynamics in American Cinema. I like to call it "The Thinking Man's Mob Movie" because it's a film that requires one to really focus on the action and dialog and not merely sit back in a lounger without attention span and wait for kill. These characters are multi-faceted, the plot is complex and the payoff for the viewer is delivered through outstanding cinematography (perhaps the Coen's best!) and skillful pacing. Coupling their usual stable of actors (Turturro, Buscemi, Polito) with veteran thespo Albert Finney, the exquisitely laconic Gabriel Byrne, and femme-semi-fatale Marcia Gay Harden, the Coen Brothers have assembled a truly great ensemble cast that transcends the brutality and authenticity of the era. Sure, there's great kill! In the good gangster pictures, violence is actually a character unto itself, always lurking in the background until called upon to make a point. In "MILLER'S CROSSING", the Coen Brothers seem to downplay the actual mechanical violence by isolating the factors and sequences that are responsible for it. Betrayal and revenge are important themes in this film. The crisp writing makes the conversation between characters appear effortless and uncontrived. There's a certain casuality in the dialog that belies the Coen's alarmingly accurate renderings of gangland execution. Finally, the enjoyment one derives from viewing "MILLER'S CROSSING" is not related to how much he/she understands the action or knows about the mob lifestyle, but to the appreciation of the filmmaker's art in communicating the brutality and fraternity of these individuals with astonishing beauty and precision.

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Summary: The backstory to "Barton Fink."
Review: After the phenomenal critical success of the Coen brothers creation "Barton Fink" a lot of their fans were intrigued by the story that the script for "Barton Fink" was based on the Coen's experiences making the film "Miller's Crossing." In "Barton Fink" a writer is lured to Hollywood to make a wrestling picture (an obvious parallel to the gangster genre). He decides to write a unique wrestling picture with more intelligence and emotion and style than action sequences in the ring. As with that scenario, "Miller's Crossing" is anything like typical gangster film noir. It is loaded with memorable, quirky characters and finely tuned dialogue. The cinematography is "handsome" and the acting is first rate. The cast is exceptional. Albert Finney, Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, and John Turturro lead the way with excellent performances but the rest of the cast frequently shine as well. In "Barton Fink" the lead character struggles with writer's block, and there is a particular scene in "Miller's Crossing" that screams "Where does the script go from here?" The final resolution to the dilema is original and highly intelligent. The biggest problem with "Miller's Crossing" is that this style of filmmaking really isn't for everyone. The Coen brothers are known for their eccentric perspective and for introducing a wide variety of personas into their often bizarre tales. Other films of note that brought about equal parts praise and bewilderment are "Raising Arizona" and "Fargo." For what it's worth, anything original coming out of Hollywood is worth checking out. "Miller's Crossing" is a well-made, cerebral gangster film filled with a carnival of characters and driven by a thoughtfully crafted screenplay. It is hard to believe that both "Miller's Crossing" and Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas" came out in the same year. Both are gangster films, but both are completely different. The special features on this DVD include an interesting featurette with Director of Photography Barry Sonnenfeld, and a short list of cast interviews that lasts about five minutes collectively. If you happen to see "Barton Fink" and want to see where that story originated, then "Miller's Crossing" has most of the answers. There is even an apartment building in "Miller's Crossing" called "The Barton Arms." "Miller's Crossing" is a good film that may be too unorthodox for some viewers, but is nonetheless one of the most unique gangster films ever made. Recommended.

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Summary: "So You Wanna Kill Him ?" "For Starters..."
Review: Gabriel Byrne is the trusted number two to crime boss Albert Finney. But Finney's romantic interest in Byrne's girlfriend (Marcia Gay Harden) causes him to risk his control of the city by protecting the girl's brother (John Turturro) against a rival gang leader (Jon Polito), whose fixed fights Turturro has been chiseling in on. How can Byrne manipulate the situation to keep Finney on top, at the risk of losing his girlfriend and beloved boss ?

Right from the opening scene, this 1990 gangster movie from the Coen Brothers will draw you in with its clever dialogue and brilliant sets. I agree this is the best Coen Brothers film. Every detail and conversation is relevant, and the story builds to an intense climax. Not a single misstep and great pacing - just a superb screenplay and production design all around.

For those of you foolish enough to question Gabriel Byrne's accent, the man really is from Ireland. So if you think he's botching the Irish accent, perhaps you don't know what an Irish accent is supposed to sound like !

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Summary: "Nobody knows anybody--at least not that well."
Review: I always tell people that this is my favorite Coen Brothers movie and they usually think I'm nuts, but their 1990 release far surpasses everything they did before or since in the quality of its plot structure and dialogue. I just saw it for the sixth or seventh time and still am amazed by some of the lines that were said. Gabriel Byrne is absolutely incredible and his relationship with Myrna is believable and thoroughly entertaining. The plot turns and twists reminded me of "House of Games." As far as film noir is concerned, this film deserves to be right up there with "The Maltese Falcon" and "The Big Sleep."

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Summary: Overrated, Extremely Predictable, Worst Coen Bros. Movie
Review: Reading the reviews for this movie, I came in with high hopes - which always makes it tougher in regards to being critical of a movie. However, Miller's Crossing did not even come close to meeting my expectations. I am a fan of Coen Bros. movies in general, especially O' Brother Where Art Thou, but this one left me very disappointed. The plot was extremely predictable and the dialogue was about as cliche as you can get. Very poor character development (the main character started out with an accent, but didn't stick with it?), and very little to keep me interested. I kept waiting for something interesting to happen, but it never did. To compare this movie with great movies like Casablanca, Gone With the Wind, or Godfather is absolutely ridiculous. If you want to watch an enjoyable, well written mobster movie try Goodfellas, Scarface or the Untouchables, but completely avoid Miller's Crossing.

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Summary: Was it the actor?
Review: I was annoyed by the lack consistency in the main character's accent. It was terrible. Why have someone who cannot keep a consistent accent, have an accent in your movie?

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Summary: John Turturro in full flight
Review: Undoubtedly John Turturro is one of the great actors of the modern era and this is his film - one of his best. Which is not to say it is a one man show, no Coen Brothers film is. But the schmatta, Bernie Birnbahm, grifter, a "nobody", brother to the lover of the protaganist character Tom Reagan played by Gabriel Byrne, is the character around whom the action swirls and a rich part which Mr Turturro invests with his considerable skills. See it and Mr Turturro and marvel.

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Summary: My favorite movie.
Review: It's odd that this is my favorite movie, since I've seen several other films from the Coen Brothers, including "Fargo" and "O Brother Where Art Thou", and I just haven't cared for them. They tend to make very quirky films, and "Miller's Crossing" certainly has some of that (just get a load of Steve Buscemi's character in this movie and you'll see what I mean), but it doesn't seem to descend into silliness the way some elements of other Coen films do.

Another reviewer described "Miller's Crossing" as "the thinking man's mob movie", and I couldn't sum it up any better than that. The first thing that will strike you when you see it is the beauty of the film. The locations, costumes, props, etc. all evoke the prohibition era better than I've ever seen any other film do. (Visually, "Road to Perdition" does this pretty well too, though otherwise it's not nearly in the same class with "Miller's Crossing".) It draws you into the period and makes makes you want to live there. Also helping this is the use of 1920s or 30s slang. The dialog in this film is great, and contributes immensely to the illusion that are watching something that actually took place in the early 20th century.

The casting is also absolutely brilliant. It's one of the few films I can think of where you just can't imagine other actors playing any of the roles. Gabriel Byrne is perfect as the laconic Tom Regan. Albert Finney exudes charisma as charming, roguish Irish gang boss. J.E. Freeman is menacing as the Italian boss' right hand man. Marcia Gay Harden is utterly believable as the tough, rather unscrupulous gangster's moll, and John Turturro plays her scheming brother with just the right combination of charming affability and swinish selfishness and ingratitude.

But the real star of the movie is the plot. It's just complex enough to require your complete attention in order to stay abreast of all its twists and turns, but it's not so complicated that you can't follow it. There is action and violence, but what really drives the story are the schemes and machinations of the characters, especially Tom Regan. Regan appears to be battered by fortune all through the movie, and lloks like he's in over his head. But when you reach the end of the film, you discover that he has been playing everyone like violins. You can see several times in the movie when fate throws him a curve, and he is surprised by something that wasn't in his calculations, but each time he recovers beautifully, changes his plans accordingly, and turns the new development to his advantage. He's a character who would have prospered at the court of the Borgias, but you can also see that his ruthlessness, and his capacity to carry off the coldest, most machiavellian intrigues are not qualities he himself admires, and indeed he obviously doesn't like himself very much. This coldheartedness, along with his lack of warmth and charm, might make him look pretty rotten, save for one realy admirable quality which I can't really name without spoiling the ending for those who haven't seen the film. Once you do see it though, you'll know what I mean.

Perhaps it was the fact that this movie is not really fast paced that caused it to fade a bit at the box office, especially as it faced competition from "Goodfellas", which is both faster paced and more intense. But if you want a gangster movie that evokes nostalgia for THE "gangster era" in America, sterling performances from truly first rate actors, and a plot that really stimulates your intellect, you owe it to yourself to check this movie out.

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Summary: Very Unique Mobster Film!
Review: I loved the accents, the 1930's era slang, the action scenes, the plot! This is one of the best Mobster flicks in my opinion! It ranks up there with Good Fellas, Casino, The Godfather, etc.
You will probably have to watch it twice to fully understand the plot but this is a movie you want to watch more than once anyways!
Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: "What's the rumpus?"
Review: Despite opening the New York Film Festival in 1990, Miller's Crossing was eclipsed by several other gangster films that year: some superior (GoodFellas) and some inferior (Godfather III, Mobsters), but all containing big-time movie stars that the Coen brothers' film did not have. Coupled with a detached, distanced approach to the characters and a densely textured plot with several implicit and explicit events occurring concurrently, Miller's Crossing became something of a cinematic oddity, a rare gem waiting to be re-discovered at the video store. Now, 20th Century Fox has finally released this underrated film on DVD with a beautiful transfer and a few extras.

"Shooting Miller's Crossing: A Conversation with Barry Sonnenfeld," is the director's take on how he got into films, how he met the Coen brothers and his experiences working on Miller's Crossing.

"Interview Soundbites," feature brief comments from Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden and John Turturro on working with the Coens and their views on their respective characters. They have the ring of a fluffy electronic press kit and look like they were done shortly after the film was completed.

There is the standard assortment of trailers for Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink and Raising Arizona.

Finally, there is a collection of stills from the movie that range from actual scenes to behind-the-scenes pictures.

Miller's Crossing has aged considerably well over the years. Even though it was marginalized at the time, only it and GoodFellas have endured. It also stands as one of the Coen brothers finest films of their career. This makes it all the more satisfying that 20th Century Fox has taken the time to release such a stunning transfer on DVD. While it would have been nice to have a stronger collection of supplemental material, this is still a movie every dedicated film fan should have in their library.