"Take Your Flunky and Dangle...": Words from a flawless film

The Film: Miller's Crossing (Circle Films, 1990). Directed by Joel Coen. Screenplay by Joel and Ethan Coen. Starring Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, John Turturro, Albert Finney and John Polito. Running time: 115 minutes.

When I first saw it: I saw Miller's Crossing when it was in the theaters in the fall of 1990, at a multiplex theater on the south side of Madison, Wisconsin.

Above: Bernie Bernbaum (John Turturro) pleads with Tom Reagan (Gabriel Byrne) to spare his life in the Coen brothers' masterpiece Miller's Crossing (1990).

About the Movie: Miller's Crossing was one of those films that seemed to come out of nowhere and made a lasting impression on me. This Coen Brothers' film - their first since 1987's Raising Arizona - is a brilliant homage to American hard-boiled novelist Dashiell Hammett and his taut tales of gangsters navigating their way through labyrinths of vast corruption. This is an impressive film in every respect. It contains an unforgettable musical score by regular Coen Brothers' collaborator Carter Burwell (The Big Lebowski, No Country for Old Men, etc.). The performers are utterly fantastic in their roles (even the minor players - especially the minor players!). The cinematography by Barry Sonnefeld (who would later direct Men in Black) is some of the most breathtaking in any film. Joel Coen's direction is tight, as always. But the best thing about this film - by far - is the mind-boggling screenplay, co-written by the Coens. When I saw the film in 1990, the screenplay instantly became my all-time favorite. It remains so to this day. You have to see it to appreciate it. The dialogue alone is a work of art. The film depicts the harrowing adventures of a prohibition-era tough guy Tom Reagan (stunning Gabriel Byrne), a confidant and advisor to gangster political boss Leo O'Bannon (Albert Finney). Unbeknownst to Leo, Reagan is secretly involved with Leo's girlfriend Verna Bernbaum (Marcia Gay Harden), a tough-talking gun moll. Reagan and Verna loathe one another, yet they have one problem: They're sexually addicted to each other. Byrne and Harden have intense chemistry in this film. It reverberates off the screen. They utter dialogue throughout the film like this:

Tom: All in all, not a bad guy - if looks, brains and personality don't count.

Verna: You better hope they don't.

Problem is, Leo's rival Johnny Caspar (played beautifully by John Polito) wants to knock off Verna's brother, an opportunistic bookie named Bernie Bernbaum (John Turturro). Seems Bernie has been cheating Johnny - and not just once, but over and over again. The film thrusts forward from the first frames and not a millisecond of it is wasted. Tom decides to go rogue on Leo and, in the process, gets the crap beaten out of him over and over again by various gangsters. It's amazing he's alive by the end of the film. He's probably the smartest and toughest guy in the history of gangster cinema, yet his machinations can sometimes prove puzzling. In fact, we have a difficult time figuring out his raison d'etre in the film until the final few minutes. I won't give anything away, except to say that Tom plays one gangster off of another from start to finish. His motives remain a mystery, but they become apparent by the closing credits. And it is well worth the wait.

My reasons for falling in love with this film: The stars were all lined up here: The acting, the cinematography, the direction, the musical score - and most of all, the screenplay. That dream screenplay! This is one of the few flawless films I've seen in a lifetime of watching movies. There are so many unforgettable moments in Miller's Crossing. Where to begin? My personal favorite scene is when Tom has been assigned to take Bernie Bernbaum (Turturro) out into the woods at Miller's Crossing to be executed. To watch Bernbaum/Turturro pleading for his life is to witness some of the finest acting ever captured on film in the history of Hollywood filmmaking.

Bottom line: I know the word "classic" has become hackneyed, but I can't think of another word to describe Miller's Crossing. No wonder Time magazine hailed it as one of the 100 Greatest Films of All Time back in 2005. Gangster movies do not come any better than this one. When, early in the film Leo (Finney) tells Johnny Caspar (Polito), "Take your flunky and dangle" (tough guy talk for, "You and your friend leave my office"), you know you're in store for a treat. Leave it to the Coen Brothers to take us on an authentic ride through a landscape of corruption, violence and the journey of one man who may or may not be decent. Oh, and did I forget to mention that Steve Buscemi is in the film? He's in only one scene, and it isn't very long, but I promise you: You'll never forget his slimy character, or any of the other toughs and ne'er-do-wells who inhabit this masterpiece. Grade: A+.