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poster of Miller's Crossing
Rating: 7.5/10 by 1624 users

Miller's Crossing (1990)

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

Directing:
  • Joel Coen
  • Thomas Johnston
  • Gregory Jacobs
Writing:
  • Joel Coen
  • Ethan Coen
Stars:
Release Date: Fri, Sep 21, 1990

Rating: 7.5/10 by 1624 users

Alternative Title:
Перекресток Миллера - RU
黑帮龙虎斗 - HK
Muerte entre las flores - ES
Un cadavre sous le chapeau - CA
Dødens ekko - DK
Το πέρασμα του Μίλερ - GR
Millerovo raskrizje - HR
A halál keresztútján - HU
Crocevia della morte - IT
Sciezka strachu - PL
Razboi în sânul mafiei - RO
História de Gangsters - PT
De paseo a la muerte - AR
ミラーズ・クロッシング - JP
ミラーズ・クロッシング:1990 - JP

Country:
United States of America
Language:
English
Gaeilge
Italiano

Runtime: 01 hour 55 minutes
Budget: $14,000,000
Revenue: $5,080,409

Plot Keyword: street gang, corruption, prohibition era, gun, gambling debt, gangster, loyalty, irish-american, irish mob, betrayal, organized crime, shootout, drunkenness, neo-noir, 1920s, violence
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John Turturro
Bernie Bernbaum
Jon Polito
Johnny Caspar
J.E. Freeman
Eddie Dane
Richard Woods
Mayor Dale Levander
Mario Todisco
Clarence 'Drop' Johnson
Danny Aiello III
Cop - Delahanty
Helen Jolly
Screaming Lady
Monte Starr
Gunman in Leo's House
Don Picard
Gunman in Leo's House
Kevin Dearie
Street Urchin
Michael Badalucco
Caspar's Driver
Charles Ferrara
Caspar's Butler
Esteban Fernández
Caspar's Cousin
George Fernandez
Caspar's Cousin
Charles Gunning
Hitman at Verna's
David Darlow
Lazarre's Messenger
Robert LaBrosse
Lazarre's Tough
Carl Rooney
Lazarre's Tough
Jack Harris
Man with Pipe Bomb
Jery Hewitt
Son of Erin
Sam Raimi
Snickering Gunman
John Schnauder Jr.
Cop with Bullhorn
Frances McDormand
Mayor's Secretary (uncredited)
MIchael P. Cahill
Casino Patron (uncredited)

John Chard

The answer my friend is a hat blowing in the wind. The Coen brothers craft a loving homage to gangster pictures of yore with splendid results. Essentially the plot has Gabriel Byrne as a good - bad guy caught between two rival gangster factions. It's a standard story line that is still providing cinematic water for many a film maker these days, but shot through the Coen prism, with literary astuteness holding court, it's a genre piece of considerable class. A picture in fact that gets better and better with further viewings. When the Coen's are on form they have the skills to make a grade "A" thriller and blend it with a sort of dry irony. It's like they bite the hand that feeds whilst praising said genre influences to the rafters, but it works as damn fine entertainment. On a narrative level Miller's Crossing molds the byzantine with the labyrinthine, keeping the complexities just on the right side of the street from that of art for arts sake. Visually the film is superb, the hard working sweat of the city dovetails impudently with the mother nature beauty of Miller's Crossing the place, a place home to misery, a witness to the dark side of man. All the while Byrne, Albert Finney, John Turturro and Jon Polito bring an array of characterisations to the party, each one his own man but each craftily proving the folly of man. Marcia Gay Harden, in one of her first mainstream roles, slinks about making the two main boys sweaty, and wonderful she is as well. While Carter Burwell provides a musical score that has a smug (in a good way) self awareness about it. Style over substance? Yes, on formative viewings it is. But go back, look again, see and sample what is not being said. Pulpers and noirers will I'm sure get the gist. 8/10

CinemaSerf

Gabriel Byrne is "Reagan", the enforcer for the pretty ruthless mob kingpin "Leo" (Albert Finney). He is caught in the middle of a battle between his boss and the man who would take his place "Caspar" (John Polito) over the antics of a rogue bookie "Bernie" (the scene-stealing John Turturro) who also happens to be the brother of "Verna" (Marcia Gay Harden) - the girlfriend of Leo, oh - and the mistress of "Reagan" too. "Reagan" tries to be a bit of an honest broker between them all, but when his efforts fail, he is cast aside by his former boss and left to fend for himself... On the face of it, this is just a run-of-the-mill gangster film. People are killed and the vicious circle of revenge continues. Quite cleverly, though, the Coen brothers have done quite a bit to present more complex characters and to give the plot a little more quirkiness - and that makes this an interesting two hours to watch. Finney's accent is a bit hit or miss, and I'm afraid Byrne just isn't a strong enough actor to carry his substantial part so well - he is no Edward G. Robinson or George Raft, but this is still a superior delve into the murky world of organised crime that does bear watching.


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