Miller’s Crossing and the Gangster Movie Genre
Gangster movies are very flexible in their ability to provide scope for displaying wide ranges of human behaviour. There are also numerous movies, thrillers and others, in which gangsters feature, but are not the main subject of the film.
Frequently the main character, or one of the main characters in a gangster movie will reveal psychological flaws which will cause his degeneration and downfall. Behaviour may be sadistic and irrational. There may be mental illness or megalomania. The protagonist is unlikely to be victorious at the end of the movie.
Relationships between men and women are usually venal, unhealthy and can be violent. As far as genuine affection exists, it is likely to be between men who share a sense of honour and fidelity to each other. Along with this, of course, there is almost inevitably betrayal. Some characters are more easily corrupted than others, but almost anyone has their price.
The setting for gangster movies is invariably urban. There are clubs, ostentatious consumption and illegal activities. There are usually at least two ethnic groups involved, most often in conflict with each other or living an uneasy peace.
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tenbears' blog 
In my opinion, Miller’s Crossing is a very good film noir. A film about gangsters marked with absurdity and black humor. The story is well treated with a touch of humor, as when the godfather of the Irish mafia kills a man by shooting him during almost 10 seconds with a machine-gun. A realization in a singular atmosphere, which offers a subtle actors play and an elegant graphic signature. Some scenes, with magnificent plans, are also exceptional.
Good comment. I’ll just make the following point. You’ve mentioned ‘film noir’ at the beginning. I thought about this, decided not to use the term and stay with ‘gangster movie’. The little article I wrote is very incomplete and needs updating on this. I’ll do that soon.
You’re not wrong. I’ve just googled “coen brothers film noir” and there are 57,700 page entries.
Try this checklist though, which is just from memory:
The main characters in American film noir are morally confused (normal, as most of the classic films of this genre were just after the Second World War, when Nazi atrocities were being discovered, racism and relations between the sexes were starting to be explored in US movies).
Film noir adopts a moral attitude towards the characters’ behavior. They’re good or bad. I don’t see that in the ‘gangster movies’ that I know, despite the violence.
Film noir was always B + W, and they were often considered ‘B movies’. The movies used low-key lighting, coming from German expressionism http://filmmakeriq.com/lessons/the-basics-of-lighting-for-film-noir/
The Coen brothers ‘the Barber ‘ was shot in black and white.
‘The Usual Suspects’ and some other films are sometimes called ‘neo-noir’.
Miller’s crossing checks all the cliches of the gangster movie genre. In the first 10 minutes or so we hear lively accents from different communities, we see suspicions of treason, loyalty between two friends put to test by a woman and management decisions and so on. Where the movie differs from others, is by the over complicated plot even for the genre standards, and the treatment of violence. The intrigue is sometimes slow, but it leaves plenty room for the development of the main character and his relations with the other protagonists. Difficult to read, the “hero” personifies the expression “living on the edge”… Suspense ensues.
The shootout scenes also break the movie’s pace and tone, and I had difficulties understanding what was the point of these scenes (over the top action, overacting, pause in vraisemblance). As Pierre said, it probably was only for comic relief.
Overall the movie is interesting, offers a wide variety of characters, great performances and manages to keep the audience at the edge of their seats when it matters… Even if the movie could sometimes use a faster pace.
In the movie Miller’s Crossroad, almost all of characters have the same characteristic of Cohen’s style – stupidity, cowardice, greed, cruelty. During the movie almost don’t know why they fight each other just for a little bit of suspicion, “he may betray me”, “he seems to provoke me”. It seems they can immediately change into a cold blood killer.
While, the film’s actor, Tom, appears to be a different guy from the others at first. He was witty, independent, maintaining order, sticking to principles, and even some kindness. But among a group of greedy people, what should he do to stay out of the conflict? “Miller’s Crossroad” is a place name, and I was impressed in the wilderness of a forest, where Tom was brought here, asked to kill a liar. What should he do? He also stood at his crossroads of humanity. He used his cleverness to set free the liar. But he underestimated the humanity of the stupidity and greed, there is a time, his kindness almost killed him.
At the beginning of the movie, Tom’s hat was blown away by the wind in the woods at the crossroads. Later, Tom said he dreamed that his hat was blown away by the wind. The girl around him said, you run to catch the hat, then the hat into a beautiful girl. Tom was angry, obviously, he did not catch up with his hat. Tom used to think that he could manage the relationship among the various forces in the town, to control the city with his cleverness. But in fact, as his boss criticized, what he expect is just an illusion. He can control the city, just because people think he can.
So in my opinion, “Miller’s Crossroad” is not an ordinary gangster film. The actor, Tom, he had nothing , no brother, no wit or bravery, or even a little known love can’t be hold, only a heartbroken and sorrowful expression.
I think you’ve made an astute observation about the main character, and have made at least a couple of other very good points. I’ve seen the film a lot of times, and still missed these:
yes, of course, it’s Tom’s hat and not just ‘a hat’ in the opening credits
also, of course a crossing/crossroads is where people have to make vital decisions – it’s not just somewhere that you might take someone to be eliminated in a gangster movie
Here is a link to a very old Alfred Hitchcock film, in which the heroine, the daughter of the chief of police, has to decide if she is going to help a young man falsely accused of murder. Note the crossroads and the name of the roadside cafe (start at about 32:00 mins and stop at 35:00 mins)
I think the one of the main strengths of this movie is the depth put into the characters and their relationships. There is are lots of talking around the concepts of ethics, loyalty, friendship, all of which might seem incongruous within the violence of this movie; but in my opinion it provides balance to the movie, contrasting with the absurdly long shooting scenes.
I also liked that you could quite easily identify with Tom, the main character. Although he is a gangster, he does not seem violent, and seems to have a kind of morality. I think the fact that he is frequently beaten up, and that he doesn’t really try to fight also contributes to the empathy we might feel for him.