Review of Miller's Crossing (1990) by Kyle S — 09 Nov 2009

"Don't Smart me. I want to see you squirm. I want to see you sweat a little.".

MIller's Crossing, from directors Joel and Ethan Coen, is their homage to gangster movies of old. Set during the prohibition era, the movie revolves around a right hand man of a powerful gang named Tommy (Gabriel Byrne). This movie is very complicated, and definitely should not be watched while tired. While there are a couple of action sequences in the film, it really relies on the characters to move the plot forward, which is a fresh look at the crime genre. I personally thought John Turturro's performance as a Jewish Bookie gone bad was Oscar-worthy, and he really shines in this role. I had absolutely no problems with this movie, every scene is great, meaningful, well-crafted and is essential to the plot. As with most Coen brothers movies, the ending is very open-ended. As the viewer, you can choose which characters you side with and which one's you don't. Overall, a great film that will please any lover of the gangster genre, and also another solid entry in the Coen body of work. This is an intelligent crime movie, made specifically for intelligent people, and I think that is why it didn't make a lot of money at the box office. What does that say about America?