ebaldig
Boring, boring, boring
The actors repeating their texts without passion. Where is the story? Unreal!
Don't want to see it again.
Amy Adler
Tom (Gabriel Byrne) is the right hand man of mobster Leo (Albert Finney). They've always "ruled" their city, despite elected officials. But, now, complications arise. Leo's galpal, Verna (Marcia Gay Harden) is seen as a hardened dame, using Leo for a better life. Her brother, Bernie (John Tuturro) is a bookie who is in trouble with Leo and with another rising mob boss, Johnny (Jon Polito). Because Bern is his lover's bro, Leo is reluctant to act against him. Meanwhile, Verna and Tom are having a secret affair, hardly loyal to Leo. Then, too, Tom is exploring working on the side for Johnny, because he has big debts to pay. Wouldn't you know it, Tom is soon asked to "off" Bernie at Miller's Crossing, a secluded wooded area where few bodies will be found. After all, Tom must prove his allegiance to Johnny. Fortunately, Tom finds a way out of his dilemma, but it doesn't solve the long term situation. Plus, Leo discovers Tom's double life, beats him up, and disowns him. With a growing battle between mobsters, who will remain standing? This intriguing, grimly majestic movie is a stellar piece of film making. The dialogue is superb, making the viewer hang on every word. Then, too, the direction includes scenes of great expertise, such as the one where a boy discovers a dead body, only to be startled when the man's toupee flies off. The actors, too, are great, with Tuturro, especially, exhibiting mighty prowess. As a period piece, one admires the thirties costumes and decor. All in all, MC was one of the first great Coen flicks and fans can argue it is the best of them all.
grantss
Brilliant - the first sign of the Coen Brothers' genius for film- making.Tom Reagan (played by Gabriel Byrne) is the right-hand man, and chief adviser, to a mob boss, Leo (Albert Finney). Trouble is brewing between Leo and another mob boss, Johnny Caspar (Jon Polito), over the activities of a bookie, Bernie Bernbaum (John Turturro) and Leo and Tom are at odds on how to deal with it. Meanwhile, Tom is in a secret relationship with Leo's girlfriend, Verna (Marcia Gay Harden), who happens to be the sister of Bernie. In trying to resolve the issue, Tom is cast out from Leo's camp and ultimately finds himself stuck in the middle between several deadly, unforgiving parties.Fantastic storytelling from Joel and Ethan Coen. Clever, complex plot. Good ramping up of the intrigue, tension and claustrophobia as the movie goes on. You can feel how Tom is being hemmed in from all sides and how no matter which way he turns somebody is going to be out to kill him.Some good comedic moments too. Wonderful camera-work and cinematography. The forest scenes are particularly beautiful and haunting. The score helps there too.Great performances all round. Gabriel Byrne gets the icy coolness and wise cracking of Tom down perfectly, like he was Humphrey Bogart and this was a Sam Spade/Micky Spillane movie. The other standout performance is John Turturro as Bernie - his under-pressure hysterics are something to behold.A wonderful modern film noir-type movie, and who better to do it than the Coen Brothers. Until this movie they had shown, with Blood Simple and Raising Arizona, that they could make good movies, but there was a spark of genius missing. With this, their third movie, they showed they could make GREAT movies, movies that were incredible works of art. And it didn't end here. After this they would scale even greater heights with movies that rank among some of the best the world has ever seen - The Big Lebowski, Fargo and No Country for Old Men.
