Review of Miller's Crossing (1990) by Tomislav A — 28 Dec 2010

Miller's Crossing is a gangster drama set in prohibition era made by the ingenious Coen brothers. Unlike many others, I don't think this is Coen's best work yet it isn't anything much below their very high standard. I had occasional trouble with understanding some phrases or even words used in this movie but fortunately, it didn't take away too much from my experience. In fact, those phrases and certain words made the depiction of that particular era more realistic which is a good thing.

The story of this movie isn't a new one. It covers a well covered ground before, yet it isn't boring for one second. Not having experienced nearly enough gangster movies set in that era, with the troubles of some unfamiliar phrases as I said already, I was a bit lost in all the characters and their connections in the first half of the movie. I decided to start from the beginning with my concentration set very high and I must admit it was easier to follow it all on the second viewing (of the first half). It helped me fully comprehend this film.

Gabriel Byrne plays the title character here Tom Reagan. He is an assistant of the mob boss Leo running the town. As his right hand he plays a very large part in Leo's decision making. But throughout the film we realise more and more that he is actually just looking out for himself. Byrne is a good actor and I always thought that. My first experience of him playing a superb role was in End of Days. Yeah, I know. That movie sucks big time, but Byrne was one of the rare positive things about it. He played Satan and somehow it felt like the role was made just for him. Albert Finney played the Irish crime boss Leo and he was equally great. He has some particular badass scenes and he delivered with excellence. Not only that, his interactions with Tom were really great and with the right amount of chemistry. Jon Polito played the rival Italian crime boss Johnny Caspar and he was absolutely outstanding. I don't remember seeing him anywhere else but I can hardly believe he surpassed his character here. John Torturro played great too and many believe this is his best role right here as Bernie, a small time criminal just trying to stay alive. On the long list of superb actors playing in Miller's Crossing there is also brilliant Marcia Gay Harden as Verna. Bernie's sister and Leo's soon to be wife. She was gorgeous to look at but she matched her beauty with stout performance. One of my favourite actors, Steve Buscemi plays a very small part here too so I must mention him, oh and there are interesting cameos from Frances McDormand and Sam Raimi himself (I bet you won't guess who he is in the movie even when you do see him).

So to summarise, Miller's Crossing is a must see for every fan of the Coen's work and a good watch for anyone else wanting to see a fine movie with magnificent performances all round. It had some flaws in the plot itself and that's why my rating isn't higher but it really isn't anything big. And one more thing. You'll find plenty of cool quotes here and I'll just end my review with my favourite - "What's the rumpus?".