Miller's Crossing
Movie, 1990, The '90s, Set in A Prohibition-era city
Miller's Crossing is #3 of 21 in release order and #3 of 21 in chronological order in the The Coen Brothers.
The story
Set in 1929, a political boss and his advisor have a parting of the ways when they both fall for the same woman.
Miller's Crossing recap
Miller's Crossing (1990) follows the cool adviser to a Prohibition-era Irish boss who plays two rival gangs against each other during a mob war. Tom Reagan (Gabriel Byrne) serves Leo O'Bannon (Albert Finney), who runs an unnamed city in 1929. Leo protects the bookie Bernie Bernbaum (John Turturro), brother of his girlfriend Verna (Marcia Gay Harden), though Bernie is cheating the Italian boss Johnny Caspar (Jon Polito) on fixed fights. Tom, secretly sleeping with Verna, tells Leo so and is thrown out, then goes to work for Caspar. Ordered to kill Bernie in the woods at Miller's Crossing, Tom lets him go, and Caspar's enforcer Eddie Dane (J. E. Freeman) starts to suspect him. Joel and Ethan Coen wrote and made the film, their third feature after Raising Arizona. They wrote Barton Fink while stuck on this script.
Miller's Crossing ending explained
Miller's Crossing ends with Leo back in charge and Tom refusing to rejoin him. Bernie had killed the Dane's lover Mink and left the body at the crossing, so Tom survives the check, then uses Mink's absence to make Caspar suspect the Dane; Caspar kills him. Tom sets up a meeting where Bernie shoots Caspar, then kills Bernie himself. At Bernie's funeral, Verna snubs Tom and Leo says she has agreed to marry him. Leo offers Tom his old job, Tom turns it down, and watches Leo walk away through the trees.
Post-credits scenes
No. Miller's Crossing has no mid- or post-credits scene.
Where to watch Miller's Crossing
Miller's Crossing isn't on a US streaming service right now. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.7/10, Rotten Tomatoes 93%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Raising Arizona, before Barton Fink.
- Chronological order: after Raising Arizona, before Barton Fink.
Cast
- Gabriel Byrne as Tom Reagan
- Marcia Gay Harden as Verna
- John Turturro as Bernie Bernbaum
- Jon Polito as Johnny Caspar
- J.E. Freeman as Eddie Dane
- Albert Finney as Leo
- Mike Starr as Frankie
- Al Mancini as Tic-Tac
- Steve Buscemi as Mink
- Richard Woods as Mayor Dale Levander
- Tom Toner as O'Doole
- Mario Todisco as Clarence 'Drop' Johnson
Directed by Joel Coen.