Miller's Crossing

1990

Action / Crime / Drama / Thriller

71
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 90% · 71 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 90% · 50K ratings
IMDb Rating 7.7/10 10 148518 148.5K

street gang corruption prohibition era gun gambling debt gangster

Plot summary

Set in 1929, a political boss and his advisor have a parting of the ways when they both fall for the same woman.

Director

Ethan Coen Photo
Ethan Coen

Top cast

John McConnell Photo
John McConnell as Cop - Brian
Don Picard Photo
Don Picard as Gunman in Leo's House
Sam Raimi Photo
Sam Raimi as Snickering Gunman
Michael Jeter Photo
Michael Jeter as Adolph
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
751.23 MB
1280*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 55 min
Seeds 10
1.60 GB
1920*1080
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 55 min
Seeds 48

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by AlsExGal 7 / 10

I found this hard to rate...

... because in typical Coen brothers style, this is a very unconventional tale told in an unconventional way.It's the Prohibition era in some big city, probably in the northern United States. It seems like it is Chicago, but the entire structure of city government is corrupt right down to the cops, so the city is unnamed. Gangster Leo (Albert Finney) is in a perpetual fight for power with gangster Johnny Caspar (Jon Polito). Leo has the upper hand at the moment, but Caspar is planning to make big time trouble.Leo's right-hand man Tom Reagan (Gabriel Byrne) is confused. He keeps having sex with Leo's girl Verna, but he's obviously in love with Leo. With Verna, Reagan seems to be "anger bedding" her - to be euphemistic about this - as a means of proving to himself that Verna isn't worthy of Leo. There's almost a jealousy there - of Leo, not Verna. This confusion explains why he is so emotionally flat about everything and everyone except when it comes to Leo. That is where he shows true passion. He uses Verna for sex and for information, but at no time does Reagan do anything that indicates it runs deeper than that with her.So why is it hard to rate? I found the bro-mance compelling, but to see the forest for the trees you have to wade through the over complicated plot with many supporting characters that just don't make an impression so that it is hard to keep track of what is going on. And the lingo - I suppose this is trying to be like an R rated WB 30s gangster picture, except I am a fan of such films and I simply can't understand what the gangsters are saying. They are using lots of expressions that were made up for this film. Example - "What's the rumpus?". What does that even mean?On the positive side, the art design and cinematography are wonderful as is the choreography of the more important scenes. One supporting character who actually is memorable? John Turturro as Bernie Bernbaum, Verna's brother. He's both a bully and a despicable coward, depending upon whether or not he thinks he has the upper hand. And he is not nearly as clever as he thinks he is.So I'd recommend this one, but if you want to get all of the details of the plot, you might need to watch it twice.
Reviewed by preston-luther 7 / 10

Miller's Crossing

Miller's Crossing is a film containing characters of the gangster genre occupying a noir-style world. Visually, the film holds up with other Coen Brother films in terms of its style, which includes elaborate set designs, costumes, landscapes, etc. Visually, the film is magnificent and eye-catching.Where the film falters lies in its dialogue. A staple of Coen Brothers' scripts, particularly their earlier films, involves characters who possess an uncharacteristically sharp tongue and wide vocabulary. Miller's Crossing is no different. Don't get me wrong, the dialogue is well-written, but at times too well-written. Characters speak so fluently in wise-cracking threats that their eloquence undermines their threats. The audience, rather than invest care in the characters, instead marvels at their wit and articulacy. But again, this isn't to say that the dialogue is bad. In fact, most will probably find the characters and dialogue appealing. The plot does not become apparent until after the credits roll. For the beginning of the film, characters speak swiftly back and forth, referencing off-screen characters nobody in the audience has yet seen. This may lead to some confusion regarding what in tarnation is happening, which subsequently may lead to a lack of emotion or care invested into the story by the viewer(s). Ultimately, Miller's Crossing is one of those films you're going to have consider in retrospect in order to piece it together. Albert Finney and Jon Polito offer tremendous performances as respective racketeer bosses. Gabriel Byre successfully plays Tom Reagan, a man caught in the middle of the warring mobsters. The wonderfully gifted John Turturro plays the two-timing Bernie Bernbaum. For this role, the Coens couldn't have scripted anyone better than Turturro, who in one instance can seem sputtering and weak 'til the next scene in which he confidently points a gun in someone's face. Overall, Miller's Crossing is a good film that possesses many reasons to watch it; though ultimately you may find yourself having to watch it again.
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