I have been a fan of the Coens ever since I first saw The Big Lebowski,
but until now I had never seen Millers Crossing. Miller´s Crossing is a
prohibition era gangster drama starring Gabriel Byrne and John Tuturro. It
tells the story of Tom Reagan who is the advisor of Irish crime boss Leo, but
as tensions start to rise between Leo and another rising crime boss, Tom find
his loyalty being divided. It is noticeably more serious then most of the Coens
films, though not as darkly serious as No Country For Old Men, as it still
contain some dark humour and Coenisms. The film is also somewhat of an homage
to 40s gangster noir, yet bringing new life into the genre.
The film is very much a character study and the characters are very
strong. Our main character played by Byrne is a very interesting character, one
who is immensely calm during all times, you as the movie goes along I feel we
see he is very vulnerable, but he just hides it behind his image as a gangster.
Yet he really isn’t that much of a gangster, as he has never killed anybody and
tries to solve conflict in ways that don’t involve killing each other. He is a
bit of an outsider in this way as he really feels like a guy who is quite
clever and knows how to manipulate people rather then threaten them. When
watching the film I was very uncertain of his motives and it really justified
everything he did and the more you reflect upon the film, the more you
understand why he did what he did. He is also much more grounded in reality
then most characters, as most other characters are classic Coen caricatures,
which still work really well in the film. However in the character we get more
sides of, we see that these caricatures are really just facades. The powerful
crime boss Leo who controls the city, is very much a ruthless crime boss in
everyway, except then you see he has this sensitive side, where he truly cares
and worries for his friends. It is nice to see a crime boss that still has some
kind of emotional core to him. The best character in the film however is Bernie
played by John Tuturro. It is a very small role, but it is incredibly important
for the story and it is such a good role. Tuturro plays it so well, giving us a
multi-layered character that only appears a few times, but twisting the story
and giving us new sides of Tom. The most Coen-y character is probably Johnny
Caspar, Leo’s enemy, but he too works well and though not having as much depth
as other characters, he has his place in the film.
It is really worth noting Barry Sonnenfield´s camerawork on the film, as
it is just so perfect. Every shot is set up so beautifully and feels like it
helps expand the story and characters. The real stars here of course are the
brothers, the Coen Brothers that is. They direct the film pretty flawlessly.
The film is very well paced, though some people might find it a bit slow.
However they spread everything out the right way, give the right scenes humour,
character development or just excitement. As you would expect from a Coen
picture, it is very moody and at times very darkly comical. Like I mentioned
earlier it is not a comical as most of their other work, but it still has some well-placed
humour here and there. The script is also excellent with all character having
purpose, all scenes being useful and of course, great dialogue. Some people
think the plot is muddled and I can see what they mean, but I disagree, while
the story takes a while to get into, it is pretty clear by the end.
There is pretty much nothing negative I can think of with the film, it
is one of the Coens best films (and that is saying a lot). It is very a very
stylized film, but it never falls in the trap of style over substance, because
it has got a lot of substance. It is not for everyone though as it is slow and
got fairly complex characters, but if you want to do the effort of getting into
the movie, it will be worth it.
4.5/5
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