by Logan Andrear

Created on: March 19, 2007   Last Updated: May 09, 2007

Miller's Crossing, a prohibition time crime drama, is easily one of the best movies in American cinema history. Written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, the film boasts a tightly wound plot, superb acting from some of Hollywood's elite, and remarkable ending.

Gabriel Byrne stars as Tom Regan, the right hand man to the head of the Irish mob, Leo O'Bannon. Regan and O'Bannon not only share their brotherhood to the mob they also share a bed with the same woman, Verna Bernbaum. To make matters more complicated, Verna's brother has been inching in on the Italian mob's territory and has put the two mobs at odds against each other. After disagreeing with Leo on how to handle the situation Tom decides to navigate the mob war on his own terms.

Byrne plays Tom to perfection. During the entire movie we see him try to maintain his tough mob-guy exterior while his underlying inner turmoil is apparent. His calm demeanor and flip responses exude a man with a plan.

John Turturro steals the film playing Bernie Bernbaum the Irish mobster in the center of the hostilities between the Irish mob and the Italian mob. In contrast to Tom's constant composure, we see Bernie's emotions range from the wild ramblings of a desperate man to the quite fury of someone seeking revenge.

In addition to the superb acting is a tightly wound script with twists and turns along the entire way. Like the film's tag-line indicates(Up is down, black is white, and nothing is what it seems) the actions and motivations of all the key players keep us guessing until the end when it all becomes apparent and almost obvious. In an industry littered with open ended scripts and characters making ridiculous decision after ridiculous decision, Miller's Crossing offers a script devoid of holes with characters who actually think for themselves.

With a great plot and great acting Miller's Crossing deserves to be listed with the top ten films in American film history. It is a unique take on a tired genre and a well crafted masterpiece. For those yearning for another epic mobster film in the vein of The Godfather, the good news is it's already been made. It's Miller's Crossing.

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