Episode 44: Miller’s Crossing
Justin:
Not that I had any real doubt at all, but of course the Coen Brothers’ stab at the gangster genre would be this good! Sure, there’s a confusing double-crossing plot, but isn’t that par for the course for a movie framed within the criminal world? But either way it flows brilliantly, going down as smooth as the many drinks that Gabriel Byrne’s Tom takes down throughout pretty much every scene. The cast from top to bottom is perfect, the tone is spot-on, the production design throws you uncomfortably into the Prohibition era (seriously, I shudder to think about living at a time where alcohol was illegal) and as per usual with the Coens, everything is intentional, creating subtext so rich that it’s impossible not to want to dive deep into what everything means.
Everyone in this movie wants to know what the rumpus is. Well I say the rumpus is that MILLER’S CROSSING is everything that I had hoped my final Coens blindspot would be and more. And now that I’ve enjoyed it so much, what’s really wild to me is that despite its greatness, I still think it rests outside of their top five! (Spoiler alert for the next show!) But I guess what that really shows is just how impressive this directing duo is when a movie as solid across the board as MILLER’S CROSSING can’t even crack their top five!
