Miller's Crossing
Yes, FARGO won lots of awards, and sure, RAISING ARIZONA isuproariously funny, but make no mistake: MILLER'S CROSSING is...
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(11/11/07) Yes, FARGO won lots of awards, and sure, RAISING ARIZONA isuproariously funny, but make no mistake: MILLER'S CROSSING is thequintessential Coen brothers film. In point of fact, it's flawless, a jewel you can turn over and around in your hands again and again, seeing a new facet every time, each one striking and smooth and perfect. The script is awash with Prohibition-era jargon both historically grounded and whimsically invented, a symphony of phrases and exchanges that linger and echo long after being heard. (It isn't unusual after a viewing to walk around asking friends, "What's the rumpus?", or to complain about being given "the high hat" upon being snubbed.) The performances, as well, are individually and collectively irresistable. I defy you, in fact, to find a single film in which _any_ of the major players has ever been better. There's not a false or miscast note in the whole of the dramatis personae. There's Gabriel Byrne as the inscrutable, Machiavellian Tom Reagan, a trusted...See less