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Miller S Crossing | Year: 1990 Classification: Action/Adventure Directed: - Joel Coen - Ethan Coen Actors/Actresses: - Gabriel Byrne - John Turturro - Albert Finney A classic gangster film by the Coen brothers. Miller's Crossing was released in 1990. It was a modest success and was relatively well received by critics. I saw the movie when it came out and liked it but thought it was nothing special. Repeated viewings on home video have made me change my opinion; it is now one of my favorite films. Albert Finney is Leo, an Irish mob boss in an unnamed Eastern city during prohibition. Gabriel Byrne is Tom, his right hand man, a drunk and a compulsive gambler. Jon Polito is Caspar, a lesser mobster who comes to Finney to get permission to kill Bernie Birnbaum (played by John Turturro), a bookie who has been profiting from information about boxing matches fixed by Polito. Finney refuses, saying to Polito that Turturro pays him protection money just like he does. In reality, Finney doesn't want to harm Turturro because he's romantically involved with the bookmaker's sister, played by Marcia Gay Harden. The performances by the leads are excellent. Albert Finney and Gabriel Byrne are superb. Jon Polito is fantastic in every scene he appears. There is an unforgettable assassination-attempt scene where Albert Finney jumps out of a second floor window and then lets his Thompson submachine gun do his talking for him. I originally thought that Turturro's perfomance was more annoying than anything else, but even that has grown on me. It's said that an actor making you dislike his character is a sign of the excellence of the protrayal. The newly released DVD is fine and the sound quality is noticeably better than the tape. There is unfortunately no director's commentary track, a inexplicable major fault. The documentary interviewing cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld somewhat makes up for this. In this documentary Sonnenfeld says that Turturro told him that he based his performance as a whiny double-dealing homosexual Jew on his observations of Sonnenfeld on the set. The movie has a polished yet artificial look that is somehow wholly appropriate. Just like a Shakespeare play, despite the fact that you can never forget that you are watching actors emoting on a (sound)stage, the writing and the performances are so good that it doesn't matter. Sister, when I raise Hell, you'll know it. It's incredibly rare to find a film where every single element works. In Miller's Crossing, the Coen brothers demonstrate such mastery of their craft, you'd swear they'd been at it for half a century. The film is not merely a period piece, but an expert homage to a bygone style of filmmaking. Barry Sonenfeld's quicksilver camerawork magics a nameless city in the 30's, all polished oak panels, marble lobbies and ballustraded staircases. Thank God it's out on DVD. My VHS was worn to breaking point. Now take your flunky and dangle. Some Background "Miller's Crossing" is a direct linear descendent of "Blood Simple" which was extracted from a line in a Dashiell Hammett novel. In turn, I think "Miller's Crossing" is a homage to one of the best writers of the 20th century. Everyone praises the crisp, cynical dialog of "Millers Crossing" and the complex plot that still holds together. This is characteristic of a Hammett novel. While everyone is familiar with Hammett's "Maltese Falcon," "Miller's Crossing" is more of a blend of the character's and story line found in his "The Glass Key" and the gang war is similar to one in his "Red Harvest". If I am right, the Coens couldn't have a better teacher. Buy Miller's Crossing at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Miller's Crossing Search with the Priority Search Engine on Miller's Crossing This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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