Noir-vember: Miller's Crossing (1990)

There are many contenders for the title of "best Coen brothers film ever", depending on your own personal taste and what day of the week it is. But I'd worry about someone who didn't at least consider Miller's Crossing up there in the uppermost tier.

Gabriel Byrne plays Tom Reagan, the right hand man to a crime boss named Leo (Albert Finney). Tom does a lot of Leo's dirty work, but he always knows the reason for doing things. That starts to change when Leo upsets Johnny Caspar (Jon Polito). He's not willing to hand over a snivelling little low-life named Bernie Bernbaum (John Turturro), possibly because he's in lover with Bernie's sister, Verna (Marcia Gay Harden). The extra complication in this mess? Tom also seems very attracted to Verna. Trouble is definitely brewing, and it may lead to Tom and Leo parting ways forever. It might even lead to the death of Tom.

A film famously paused by a bout of writer's block that led to the Coens writing Barton Fink, this is a neo-noir gangster movie that celebrates classic tropes while also filling every sequence with gloriously cinematic moments, from the memorable image of a black hat being blown by the wind through a woody area to a gunfight that uses the kind of overkill viewers will recognise from the WB classics of the '30s and '40s. The plot will also be familiar to anyone who has read some of the main works from Dashiell Hammett, or even seen some of the movies based on his work (particularly The Glass Key). And, despite the break required (or maybe because of it), this sits up there with one of the very best scripts written by the Coen brothers, expertly blending the traditional with the ear-caressingly cool. It's the best dialogue that Byrne has ever been given to deliver, and he certainly makes the most of it.

Although there are others worthy of consideration, I'd put this as the best film role that Byrne has ever had. Never unsure of himself, even when about to be handed a beating, and effortlessly cool, he even manages to look like someone punching in the face is a result he was aiming for. Finney is also excellent, absolutely convincing as a boss who no longer often needs to throw his weight around as he has others who can carry out his orders. Polito is equally convincing, a rival crime boss attempting to keep the peace, but also willing to push back harder if he is being made to look weak. As for Turturro, this may be his greatest single performance. He and Byrne are given a gift by the Coens, and they make the most of it. Harden is an enjoyable potential spanner in the works, sensual and self-preserving, and there are some intimidating henchmen portrayed well by J. E. Freeman and the inimitable Mike Starr. There's also an enjoyable small role for Steve Buscemi, although it's worth noting that every single supporting actor here feels perfectly picked for whatever role they're given, from anonymous shooters to local cops.

There's a great score by Carter Burwell accompanying the lush visuals (from Barry Sonnenfeld, who solidified his DP credentials with the Coen brothers before building his own directorial career), wonderful production design throughout, great costumes, and on and on goes the list of positives. The more I think about it, the less I can find to fault here. It is, for me, absolute perfection, and easily jostles alongside The Hudsucker Proxy as the very best feature that the Coen brothers have delivered thus far.

10/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form. "If you want me to keep my mouth shut, it's gonna cost you some dough. I figure a thousand bucks is reasonable, so I want two" - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews

Angels With Dirty Faces (1938)

There are many movies that just don't hold up when you revisit them. They are tinged with a glow of nostalgia that quickly fades away in front of your older eyes. Many were just aimed precisely at the you as you were then, compared to the you of today. But many of the classics can be relied on not to disappoint. They endure for a reason. That's what I was hoping when I finally revisited Angels With Dirty Faces anyway, a film that I loved as a young boy, and a film that would always set me to tears every time I watched it (seriously, my mother would have a towel ready for me as things moved towards the finale, and I would cover my red, snotty, bawling face with it as the end credits rolled).

There's a bit more going on here than I remembered. I forgot, for example, that Humphrey Bogart played a shady lawyer who makes his name, and riches, off stolen loot that was being held for his client (Rocky Sullivan, played by James Cagney). And I forgot how the third act brings everything together, with a net closing around Rocky thanks to the persistence of a friend (Father Jerry O'Connolly, played by Pat O'Brien) who wants to clean the criminal element out of the neighbourhood.

But let me start at the beginning. Rocky and Jerry are first seen as a pair of cheeky kids. They try to steal some pens from a railway carriage, are caught in the act, and flee. Jerry slips, Rocky picks him up. They run. unfortunately, Rocky isn't quite as quick, which leads to him being caught. He won't give up his friend to help lighten the sentence, and so he begins a life mostly spent behind bars, in between further criminal activities.
Fast forward to Rocky and Jerry as adults, two men who ended up on two very different paths, but also two men who immediately rekindle their friendship when they meet up again. And both men end up offering a helping hand to a group of young larcenists (The Dead End Kids) - Jerry has known them for some time, Rocky meets the group when they try to steal his wallet. That's the main story. The kids idolise Rocky, once they realise who he is, and Jerry tries to use this in a positive way. Meanwhile, Rocky is also wanting to get his money back and make himself a more comfortable life, others will go to deadly lengths to stop that from happening, and there's a woman (Laury, played by Ann Sheridan) who catches the eye of our (anti-)hero.

Based on a scenario by Rowland Brown, Angels With Dirty Faces is a perfect combination of a wonderful script (by John Wexley and Warren Duff), great direction (from Michael Curtiz), and dazzling star power. It's also a perfect combination of gangster action, comedy, and a heart-swelling look at how strong the bonds of friendship can be when forged at the right age.

I am a fan of Cagney in pretty much anything he ever did, but this remains one of his best performances, allowing him to play the comfortable tough guy role that made him famous while injecting a lot more humour and sweetness. O'Brien is a bit stiffer in his role, but that's not a major negative, considering the very earnest and unwavering part he plays in the proceedings. Bogart is as good as ever (I may not have seen much of his work while a youngster, but became a firm fan of his in my adult movie-watching years), all about his self-enrichment and self-preservation, and Sheridan does well to make a lasting impression in a film that is otherwise all about the guys. As for the Dead End Kids, well, it's perhaps inevitable that I don't enjoy their antics quite as much today as I did when I was a youngster, but they're still an amusing and likeable bunch.

I eventually covered the beginning of the film and I guess I should end on the ending. I won't reveal any details, because I don't believe the age of a movie should let people assume that everyone already knows all about it, but I will say that it still packs a punch. It's in line with the whole direction of the story, it's played beautifully by all involved, and, yes, I may have had a quivering lip while I tried to stop my eyes leaking everywhere.

9/10

Here's a DVD copy available.
Americans can get it here.

Filmstruck Friday: White Heat (1949)

When this movie fan was a much younger, much smaller, and much more casual movie fan there were a few people who held my attention for reasons I didn't always understand at the time. I loved the main skits of Abbott & Costello, I think I had quite a crush on Doris Day, and I would watch James Cagney in anything. I also, apparently, ran to the TV when Peter Sissons was reading the news but that's neither here nor there.

I haven't watched a James Cagney movie in many years. In fact, I cannot think of any of his movies that I have revisited as an adult. Perhaps it was due to the sadness that wracked my soul every time the young me watched Angels With Dirty Faces, crying so hard at the finale that my mother would literally throw a towel at me to help me wipe my soaked face.

So I revisited White Heat with some trepidation. All I remembered about it was that it starred Cagney and had the famous ending with him exclaiming that he'd made it to the top of the world. But there's so much more to enjoy here.

Cagney is Cody Jarrett, a ruthless criminal with a master plan. He and his men rob a mail train and then bide their time. He then heads home and tells everyone to just stay calm before he heads to Illinois to confess to a different, lesser, crime that will get him a couple of years in prison. And if he is sentenced for that crime, which he is, then he assumes that the cops can't pin the train robbery on him. But the cops want Jarrett bad, so much so that they plant an undercover officer in his cell.

As well as his band of men, Jarrett also has a woman he loves (Virginia Mayo) and a mother he is very attached to (played by Margaret Wycherly). He also has occasional fits, usually best soothed by his mother. The guy has issues, proving time and time again that he's as unstable as he is conniving. And Cagney plays him perfectly throughout. He's often got a twinkle in his eye and smile, but just as often that twinkle signifies danger for those around him. White Heat is a film that is part gangster film and part tense thriller about an undercover officer trying to keep himself safe while on his mission, and it works so well because of the manic nature of Cagney juxtaposed alongside the calm demeanour of Edmond O'Brien, who plays the good guy. Mayo and Wycherly also give very good performances, damaging to Jarrett in different ways and making such strong impressions that they feel ever-present despite only being onscreen for maybe a quarter of the runtime.

Director Raoul Walsh has an extensive filmography (from Westerns to war films to much more, including a superb gangster film that paired Cagney with Humphrey Bogart, The Roaring Twenties) but this is, from what I have seen of his work, one of his very best. He doesn't shy away from the nastiness, using the charisma of Cagney to make the whole thing more palatable and entertaining than it otherwise could have been.

He's helped by a solid script from Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts, based on a story by Virginia Kellogg. Some may think that the material is handled clumsily, and there are certainly moments that let Cagney overact a bit, but it actually does a fantastic job of exploring the psyche of a scary individual while also ramping up the tension for a very satisfying third act.

A film very much deserving of the fine reputation it has, my enjoyment of White Heat means that I hope to not leave it so long until my next Cagney film viewing. I might even have to fall in love with Doris Day movies again. Maybe the younger, smaller, me actually had some taste. I'll stop short of waiting by my TV until Peter Sissons comes on to read the news though. Mainly because I assume he has retired by now.

9/10

You can shop around for a better price, but the blu is here.
Americans have this less shiny edition available.