Review of Miller's Crossing (1990) by Ross M — 26 May 2009

Miller's Crossing another Coen Brother's masterpiece. This is without a doubt one of the greatist gangster films of all time yet is one of the most under-rated of them, just like Corman's legendary The St. Valentine's Day Massacre.

Periodically acurate and shot with beautiful orange like photography a Coen masterpiece is created. Barry Sonnenfield's effective cinematography is just the tip of this iceberg here.

The screenplay must be one of the best screenplay's ever written. Seriously, it is up there with Pulp Fiction and other Coen masterpieces such as The Big Lebowski and Fargo. Verbal enjambement, memorable lines and back tracking dialogue, all present and perfect.

Here, the Coen's dare to step out of the conventional gangster field and a unique film was made in the process; there isn't a fight for about 20 minutes, or a gun fight for about 40 minutes, but this just makes the film all the more special. Yet it is conventional also. The setting, the props etc are all very well established gangster film traits as is the plot.

Directing wise, the brothers are amazing again and never falter. The cmaerawork I have grown to love from them is again fantastic, undeniably.

The score is memorable and accompanies the film well. It is as suiting as everything else in the film.

The tight editing makes the film even more exciting and tense just like in Blood Simple for example.

Miller's Crossing is an unforgettable 90's classic and one of the best gangster films that has ever been made. Heavy dialogue, bursts of excitment, this is my kind of film. I'm not sure about others, some may not find it so great but I really did appreciate it and I hope anyone else who watches this does too.