DVD Movies: Miller's Crossing DVD Movie

Average Rating:

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen's script is awash with Prohibition-era jargon both historically grounded and whimsically invented, a symphony of phrases and exchanges that linger and echo long after being heard. It isn't unusual after a viewing to walk around asking friends, "What's the rumpus?", or to complain about being given "the high hat" upon being snubbed. (Good dialogue always has a way of worming its way into common parlance, but only _excellent_ dialogue can do so in defiance of instant recognizability.)

The performances, as well, are individually and collectively irresistable. I defy you, in fact, to find a single film in which _any_ of the major players has ever been better. There's not a false or miscast note in the whole of the dramatis personae. There's Gabriel Byrne as the inscrutable, Machiavellian Tom Regan, a trusted Irish mob advisor who falls out of favor with the boss and defects to the rival Italian camp to save his own skin...or does he? Albert Finney plays Leo, the aforementioned Irish power broker whose fists of iron, vicious survival instinct, and all-too-vulnerable heart congeal into a simply remarkable, unforgettable character. John Turturro is equal parts pathetic outcast and conniving opportunist as Bernie Birnbaum, the unscrupulous, vampirically pale bookmaker whose shady maneuvers set the whole plot into motion. Marcia Gay Harden exudes fierce intelligence and buckets of carefully-aimed sex appeal as Bernie's sister Verna, whose unflagging drive to protect her brother -- even from himself -- almost excuse her twisted machinations. Jon Polito, as hot-tempered Italian ringleader Johnny Caspar, may be the only character at hand to actually feel sorry for, as his oddly consistent ethical code makes it a sure bet he doesn't stand a chance in this environment.

There's more to say about the acting, of course, but I'll stop there rather than pour accolades onto the entire cast. And when I say "entire," I'm not exaggerating: _every_ person who comes into frame, each and every one, from the leads to the smaller parts to the people with one line or none at all, fit together and play off of each other as though they'd been born to do nothing else in their entire lives. The resultant effect actually makes it difficult to subsequently keep from noticing acting and casting problems in other films.

A few brief words about some of the other eleements of production. Barry Sonnenfeld's sure-footed photography, as always, is smooth and steady where appropriate, and frenetic where necessary. The set design and costuming make for such an astonishing illusion that were this not a color film, you might actually forget that it was released 9 and not 69 years ago. And even the sound -- from the music (diegetic and otherwise) to the crystal-clear sound effects that pierce the visual and draw you in by the ears, like they're supposed to -- is a _presence_ in its own right throughout the film. I mean, when was the last time ice cubes dropping into an old-fashioned glass or the wringing out of an alcohol-soaked rag into a tinny dish felt truly _woven_ into the designed effect of a scene in a movie?

What continues to amaze me about MILLER'S CROSSING is that no matter how many times I see it, regardless of how hard I look, I _can't find anything wrong with it_. That's an extremely rare situation in my experience. It's what we all want out of a movie, and almost never get. MILLER'S CROSSING delivers exactly that feeling, and when Tom Regan leans against that tree and adjusts that hat in the haunting final shot, he knows it just as surely as we do. He doesn't seem to feel especially happy about it, but that's okay. _You_ will.

The plot has been summed up in previous reviews: a power-struggle between the Irish mob and the Italians in an unnamed city on the east coast (I'm assuming). It involves complex loyalties and trusts, forged and broken, keeping you guessing character motives and alliances until the very end.

Gabriel Byrne plays the wonderfully dark Tom Regan, right hand man to the always-brilliant Albert Finney's Liam 'Leo' O'Bannon. Everyone in the film shines. I was particularly taken with Jon Polito's Giovanni 'Johnny Caspar' Casparo. On the surface, a hot-headed simpleton, but underneath, one of the more torn and complex mobsters since Pacino's Michael Corleone.

The theme of the film can be summed up by Johnny Caspar's frustrated expectations of his employees: "Friendship.....character....ethics....." The movie exists as a complicated character study of these traits and how they affect the lives of the many characters involved. Some of the villains in the film seem to live by the 'honor among the thieves' credo more so than the films 'heroes' if indeed there are any.

The film looks stunning, as can be expected from the Cohen's, and the aforementioned score is one of the most used in film trailers to this day. The scenes at Miller's Crossing with Tom chasing his hat and then being put to the test later in the film are simply stunning.

All the praise in the world from an amateur reviewer such as myself won't make you see the film, but trust me, if there was such a thing as a perfect movie, for me, this is it.

Now stop givin' me the High Hat and check out the film!

(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.