Miller's Crossing
Joel and Ethan Cohen again impress with 1990's Miller's Crossing, an atmospheric and evocative salute to 1930's crime noir that might be a little overprotective of its central character, but the viewer comes to expect as the story progresses.
Gabriel Byrne plays Tom, an advisor of sorts to a mob boss named Leo (Albert Finney), whose personal gambling debits have fueled the fires between Leo and and fellow mob boss Johnny (Jon Polito), who is willing to forgive Tom's debt if he will take out a gambler named Bernie (John Turturro), who is the brother of Verna (Marcia Gay Harden), who is sleeping with both Tom and Leo.
Once again, the Cohen Brothers have constructed another story that is a little more complicated than necessary, but is rich with such complex characters and authentic 30's noir drama dialogue that we can't help but get caught up in the spirit of what the Cohens are trying to do. Love the dialogue in this movi...as it came out of these characters mouths, I could have sworn I was watching people like Cagney, Bogart, Edward G Robinson, and Veronica Lake being resurrected on the screen for me.
It was interesting the way the story initially seemed about Tom's gambling debts and his affair with his boss' mistress, but the reveal of the Bernie character brought another level to the story that we really don't see coming and we wonder how poor Tom is going to get out of all this. It seems impossible, but, like it or not, he's the hero here and the story's smartest character, but when he is taken to that wooded area so that he can kill Bernie, the character seems to have been written into a corner from which he can't escape, but he does, though not in the way we expect and the story gets even more sticky. The Cohens work very hard to convince the viewer there's no way Tom can come out of this alive, but we hope they don't succeed.
As always, the Cohens provide spectacular production values for this movie. The detail of the production design, cinematography, and costumes reminded me of the HBO series Boardwalk Empire, the movie is a visual feast, rivaling another of their most visual offerings, Barton Fink. Byrne underplays beautifully as Tom and Albert Finney brings a surprising grittiness to Leo. Turturro brings the accustomed explosiveness to his performance and I kept waiting for Polito's head to blow up. Marcia Gay Harden has never been so sexy onscreen and if you don't blink, you'll catch a cameo from Joel's wife, 4-time Oscar winner Frances McDormand. Another bullseye from the Cohen Brothers.
Joel and Ethan Cohen again impress with 1990's Miller's Crossing, an atmospheric and evocative salute to 1930's crime noir that might be a little overprotective of its central character, but the viewer comes to expect as the story progresses.
Gabriel Byrne plays Tom, an advisor of sorts to a mob boss named Leo (Albert Finney), whose personal gambling debits have fueled the fires between Leo and and fellow mob boss Johnny (Jon Polito), who is willing to forgive Tom's debt if he will take out a gambler named Bernie (John Turturro), who is the brother of Verna (Marcia Gay Harden), who is sleeping with both Tom and Leo.
Once again, the Cohen Brothers have constructed another story that is a little more complicated than necessary, but is rich with such complex characters and authentic 30's noir drama dialogue that we can't help but get caught up in the spirit of what the Cohens are trying to do. Love the dialogue in this movi...as it came out of these characters mouths, I could have sworn I was watching people like Cagney, Bogart, Edward G Robinson, and Veronica Lake being resurrected on the screen for me.
It was interesting the way the story initially seemed about Tom's gambling debts and his affair with his boss' mistress, but the reveal of the Bernie character brought another level to the story that we really don't see coming and we wonder how poor Tom is going to get out of all this. It seems impossible, but, like it or not, he's the hero here and the story's smartest character, but when he is taken to that wooded area so that he can kill Bernie, the character seems to have been written into a corner from which he can't escape, but he does, though not in the way we expect and the story gets even more sticky. The Cohens work very hard to convince the viewer there's no way Tom can come out of this alive, but we hope they don't succeed.
As always, the Cohens provide spectacular production values for this movie. The detail of the production design, cinematography, and costumes reminded me of the HBO series Boardwalk Empire, the movie is a visual feast, rivaling another of their most visual offerings, Barton Fink. Byrne underplays beautifully as Tom and Albert Finney brings a surprising grittiness to Leo. Turturro brings the accustomed explosiveness to his performance and I kept waiting for Polito's head to blow up. Marcia Gay Harden has never been so sexy onscreen and if you don't blink, you'll catch a cameo from Joel's wife, 4-time Oscar winner Frances McDormand. Another bullseye from the Cohen Brothers.
Last edited by Gideon58; 02-12-24 at 01:57 AM.