Miller's Crossing (1990)

Tom Regan, an advisor to a Prohibition-era crime boss, tries to keep the peace between warring mobs but gets caught in divided loyalties.

Director:

Joel Coen

Writers:

Joel Coen, Ethan Coen,

Stars:

Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, John Turturro

5 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gabriel Byrne	...	Tom Reagan
Marcia Gay Harden	...	Verna
John Turturro	...	Bernie Bernbaum
Jon Polito	...	Johnny Caspar
J.E. Freeman	...	Eddie Dane
Albert Finney	...	Leo
Mike Starr	...	Frankie
Al Mancini	...	Tic-Tac
Richard Woods	...	Mayor Dale Levander
Thomas Toner	...	O'Doole
Steve Buscemi	...	Mink
Mario Todisco	...	Clarence "Drop" Johnson
Olek Krupa	...	Tad
Michael Jeter	...	Adolph
Lanny Flaherty	...	Terry

Storyline

A highly styled 'genre' film which can perhaps be seen as a pastiche of all gangster movies. Tom Reagan is the laconic anti-hero of this amoral tale which is also, paradoxically, a look at morals within the criminal underworld of the 1930s. Two rival gangs vie for control of a city where the police are pawns, and the periodic busts of illicit drinking establishments are no more than a way for one gang to get back at the other. Black humour and shocking violence compete for screen time as we question whether or not Tom, right-hand man of the Irish mob leader, really has a heart.

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Plot Keywords:

power | police | pastiche | gangster | violence | 

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Taglines:

Up is down, black is white, and nothing is what it seems.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian Irish Yiddish

Release Date:

October 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

De paseo a la muerte

Filming Locations:

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$5,080,409 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Circle Films, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character Eddie Dane was originally written for Peter Stormare and was to be named The Swede. Stormare had to decline as he was appearing as Hamlet in the Broadway production. The part was then re-written and re-cast, and became The Dane.

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Goofs

The position of the police chief's arms while talking to Tom during the attack on Leo's club.

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Quotes

Johnny Caspar: [after killing Eddie Dane] That son of a bitch! I had a feeling about this son of a bitch! We silence him! And we do the same to Mink this very night!

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Connections

Referenced in Building 'Brick' (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Decatur Street Tutti"
Written and Performed by Jabbo Smith
Courtesy of MCA Records

User Reviews

The Intellectual's Gangster Film

"I'm talkin' about friendship. I'm talkin' about character. I'm talkin' about--hell Leo, I ain't embarrassed to use the word--ethics." So Jon Polito, as crime-boss Johnny "Caspar," describes to his overlord, Albert Finney as "Leo," his point of view while seeking permission to kill a double-crossing underling (played by John Turturro) in the opening lines of __Miller's Crossing__. Had the script sought only to explore the power relationship between the two chief mobsters (one the rising Italian, the other the diminishing Irishman), this would have been a very good gangster film. It portrays an earlier era in the nation's history of organized crime (perhaps Chicago in the late '20s), and one can imagine Leo as the Irish predecessor of __The Godfather__'s Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando).

Just as __The Godfather__ was really about family relationships and the ethical complexities arising when familial loyalty collides with the business of violence, however, __Miller's Crossing__ is actually about, as Caspar tells us, friendship and character put under the enormous strain of that same business of violence. The film, therefore, centers on Leo's trusted adviser Tom (played flawlessly by the Irish actor Gabriel Byrne). Tom is not a gunsel, but the brain behind Leo's muscle. His decisions carry life and death consequences, however, and we watch him try to live with himself, to preserve his character, as he works out a code that will help him and his friends survive brutally violent upheavals. Critics of the film have cited its graphic cruelty and the seeming coldness of its characters, yet these are essential features in developing the film's theme.

Sentimentality might get any of the major characters killed, and one notes the pathos and dark humor that underline an ironic distance that each character, especially Tom, cultivates as a tool for survival.

Clues abound as we wonder what Tom will do next. Follow, for example, the men's hats over the course of the film. Who "keeps his lid on," so to speak, and who loses his? Note the number of times characters exclaim "Jesus!" or "Damn!" when saying the name "Tom." What has he sacrificed? Has he damned himself?

Spectacular action sequences, beautiful production values, top-notch camera work by Barry Sonnenfeld, a haunting musical score, and the best dialogue ever written by the Coen brothers make this a great gangster film. The fascinating and complex theme of friendship, character, and ethics make it one of the great films from any genre.