For this series I wanted to take a look back at the Coen Brother's impressive and extensive filmography. Before they were Oscar winners and considered two of the best in the business, only rivaled by the likes of Scorsese or Tarantino. The Coen Brother's have always been top notch filmmakers, always creating memorable characters, and imaginative stories, whether it be dramatic, comedic, or a little of both, the Coen's have always had a gift for the craft, and Miller's Crossing is no exception.
Coming out in 1990 makes Miller's Crossing only the third feature film from the Coen Brothers, but anyone not familiar with their iconic filmmaking would think this movie was made by a veteran of the industry. Even being one of their earlier works it feels like it could be from last year, it's fun to point out the classic nuances that the Coen Brothers have always brought to their films, even from almost two decades ago. Whether it be from the humor, a man getting punched in the face each time getting his hat knocked off his head, only to be given it back by the same man delivering the punch. Or from the iconography, whether it be money (a classic staple of a Coen Brother movie) which usually symbolizes greed, or the sudden jarring spurts of violence of which Miller's Crossing has no shortage of. The Coen Brother's have always had the skill to craft an amazing story, and they've only fine tuned that incredible talent over the years.
Although this movie was a critical success, it suffered in the box office, my speculation is because Goodfellas came out in the same month, and people probably thought this was a rip off or a run of the mill gangster film that couldn't possibly be as good as Scorsese's flick, plus it was coming from a pair of fairly new directors, but boy would those thoughts be more than wrong. Miller's Crossing is not only a lavish and complex gangster movie, that matches the likes of “Goodfellas” or “Casino,” but one that breathes new life into the bloated genre. Set amidst the gritty backdrop of prohibition era America this movie oozes with authenticity, from the smooth, narcissistic dialect of the leading gangsters, to the clothing and set design “Miller's Crossing” nails the atmosphere from the get go, with a score just as fitting and a premonition of a later Coen Brother's film, “Fargo”.
Our story centers around an Irish mob boss Leo (Albert Finney, “Erin Brockovich”) who is given an impossible choice to kill a crooked book keeper Bernie (John Turturro, “Barton Fink”), but Leo is sleeping with Bernie's sister Verna (Marcia Gay Harden) so he simply cannot do this deed. All the while Leo's right hand man Tom (Gabriel Byrne, “Hereditary”) is also sleeping with Verna. While all this is happening an underling of Leo's, Casper (Jon Polito) has become big enough in the mob to rival Leo and attempts to use Tom to his advantage. That's just a brief synopsis for this complex story of greed and morality, there's twists and turns aplenty, double crossing as in any good gangster movie, some truly awesome hyper violent shoot outs, and knock out performances from the entire cast, Steve Buscemi even makes a small appearance. This is a film that was overlooked when it was released and it definitely needs to be seen by any gangster film enthusiast out there. It's packs just as much of a punch if not more than its constituents in much less time, proving that epic films don't need to have an epic runtime.
The Coen Brother's have always been Master class screen writers, bringing themes and characters together with ease, always adding dark humor when they can, but to say Miller's Crossing is a perfect movie would be a lie. Towards the end it starts to stumble a bit with the pacing, after all the punches have been played it almost turns stale but luckily for the audience the Coen Brother's probably thought the same thing and let the credits roll at a perfect time. There's also some exposition that I really would've liked to see rather than just hear, but sometimes that's unavoidable with a small budget.
Overall Miller's Crossing is one the Coen Brother's earliest and finest movies, showcasing their monster talent they have from an early stage in their career. From airtight, authentic characters set over the beautiful, atmosphere filled streets of the roaring 20s, to the complexity of the story, and being able to flesh it out, developing everything naturally in less than two hours, although towards the end there are some small pacing issues but nothing that greatly detracts from the drama. It's darkly funny under the tension, something the Coen Brothers do with ease, each character is memorable and the performances are stellar, the action is bloody and frantic, and it shapes up to be one of the best gangster movies of its genre and it is criminally underrated. If you ever have the opportunity to watch Miller's Crossing, do not hesitate, it is a satisfying and rewarding watch.
I give Miller's Crossing 4.5 stars out of 5.
