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Directed by: Joel and Ethan Coen, SCREENPLAY by Joel and Ethan Starring: Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden I saw this at a revival house theater many years ago and was simply blown away. This is a Chicago gangster movie with all the quirks of the Coen brothers. Every person on the screen has a pulse. I waited years for this to be on DvD and could never figure out what the holdup was until I saw that Variety reports it made around $6MM theatrical. For those of you who seem to love Tuturo in Big Lebowski, he's here in just as crazy, though somewhat less comic a role. But for me, the movie is about Tom. A character that EVERYONE knows and everyone likes. I remember thinking he was completely unbelievable, but I didn't care. Unbelievable, because he's a smart, cynical, zero luck guy and there's no reason for everyone to love him. One of the great lines is when he's getting beat up by bookie thugs for not paying and Tom says he didn't take it personally and the thug goes, "jesus Tom, he knows that." As if there's any doubt people could be sore at Tom while they are beating the poo poo out of him. There's a point when someone punches Tom and knocks off his hat and someone picks his hat up and gives it to him as he's punched again. Tom gets beat up quite a bit... "I never met anyone who took being a sonofabitch to be a matter of principle." The story is about the clash of two gangland bosses. One is the oldtimer Leo (with Tom as his right hand) played by Albert Finney and the other is the psycho up-and-comer Johnny Casper. Things get complicated when the grifter gal gets her hooks into Leo trying to protect her brother and a gang war is started. There's a hell of a lot of violence in Coen fashion and some of it really really brutal - for me, that's often a turn-off for Coen movies because it jars with the comedy. But this movie is less comic and darker than their usual fare. On the DvD there seemed to be a lot of questions about what the movie was about, which was maybe why it didn't play well. But the characters are great, the lines are great, the locale is great. This was one of my favorite movies for a while. RATING: 5 PROS: Great acting, zinger lines, realistic environment CONS: Hyper real (some characters could NOT exist), confusing plot twists, some of the interior sets really look like sets ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100150/
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Sep 29, 2004 17:35
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 03:04 |
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I couldn't agree with the original poster more. This was the Coen brothers movie that made me wake up and seek out their others. A little slow, maybe, but with superb character development and even a few good action scenes. If you've been wondering what "Are you giving me the high hat!" is from, look no further. Rated 5
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Oct 27, 2004 08:01
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The script is just awesome in and of itself. There are so many great lines you'll have to watch it several times in order to fully grasp everything. All the locales are great and very authentic looking. Overall a great gangster movie that warrents several viewings. 4.5
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Oct 27, 2004 09:10
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I'm going to go superlative crazy with this review, but this movie deserves it. This is a great movie that has some of the best characterisation seen in a gangster movie. Gabriel Bryne is utterly engrossing as Tom, and Albert Finney turns in a wonderful performance, especially during the excellent "danny boy" sequence. The atmosphere is top notch, with great production design and Barry Sonnenfelds superb cinematography. This movie could have been made in the 30's. And finally, the writing is excellent with great dialogue quirks that keep the viewer entertained ("What's the high hat?") The soundtrack is good as well. The movie takes its time to tell its story, which was a little off putting the first time I watched this, but the second viewing onwards have been a huge pleasure every time. Basically this is one of the greatest gangster movies alongside Goodfellas and The Godfather 1 & 2. 5
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Oct 29, 2004 09:53
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Great movie, plain and simple. Period piece to be sure, but it has the look and feel down perfectly. Byrne plays his roll in an understated and cool way. Finney is...well Finney. Steve Buscemi pops up for one of his show stopping scenes. This guy never fails to amaze me in his range. A Coen favorite, John Turturro plays a character you won't soon forget. Together, this cast along with a great plot make for a gangster film unlike many others. By the way, a trademark of all Coen Brother's movies is the "scream scene". Barton Fink, Raising Arizona, Fargo...they all have a scene where someone just lets out with a primal scream. Miller's Crossing is no different although I must say that the "scream scene" in Crossing is one of the most bizarre I have ever seen. It's great! 5/5.5 I'm beggin you to see this movie. For the love of God, please see this movie. http://img88.exs.cx/img88/751/1291.gif
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Oct 30, 2004 05:10
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As close as a movie can get to being a Dashielle Hammett story without actually being one (although it's obviously based upon the themes and tone of his books). 5/5.
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Oct 30, 2004 05:39
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A great movie full of amazing dialogue, a great smart story, incredible acting and gorgeous cinematography. It's funny in spots (definitely more an appreciative chuckle way than laugh-out-loud) and very serious in others. Tom, the protagonist, is a smart guy in a city of generally stupid (but certainly street-smart) criminals and corrupt cops and politicians, and weaves his way through a clusterfuck of bad luck using his smarts rather than today's typical "pick up a gun and shoot the hell out of what's bugging you" brand of movie hero. I really don't think my communication skills can convey just how great I think this movie is. I can watch it again and again for a multitude of reasons. From the awesome gang violence to appreciating Tom's way of handling things to just sitting back and enjoying the amazing dialogue, this movie is perfect. 5.5/5.5
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Oct 31, 2004 01:03
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