Film Journal 3 – Miller’s Crossing

Joel and Ethan Coen have time and again proved to be the most interesting mainstream filmmakers in contemporary America. Whether one is watching a Coen brother’s original (Fargo, Raising Arizona, The Hudsucker Proxy) or one of their adaptations (Oh, Brother Where Art Thou?, No Country For Old Men) it is almost impossible to dislike their incredibly skillful composition and their story telling ability. Their characteristic long dramatic shots are effectively utilized to emphasize a pensive mood or a powerful, and power shifting, action sequence.
Miller’s Crossing is their follow up to Raising Arizona about a conflict between the Irish mob boss Leo, who runs the town, and the usurping Italian mob boss Caspar, who is “tired of gettin’ the high hat!” The film actually centers on the gambling and alcohol addicted right-hand-man (of Leo) named Tommy. He has a secret relationship with Leo’s partner Verna, and eventually switches “teams” and replaces Caspar’s right-hand-man Eddie Dane. He does this through a series of well calculated “plays” and deceit.
One of the principle themes in this film is the idea that these men are all very similar to children. Much of the dialogue, with regard to one’s status in either mob, uses terms such as: “play,” “side,” and “team”. Another one of the themes has to do with the imagery of hats. A strong focus on the hat with relation to the person can yield interesting results. Jung suggests that wearing a hat is like becoming somebody else, and this could certainly apply to Tommy. Whenever he [Tommy] is not wearing his hat—after a beating, after losing it on a bet, or after falling down because of how drunk he is—he is truly a representative of himself; however, whenever he is wearing his hat he has a tendency to switch sides, tell lies, and be perceived as powerful.