It's a Question of Ethics

Those words, or words to that effect, open Miller's Crossing, a dark comedy/drama, from the Coen Brothers, whose Raising Arizona was as zany as Blood Simple was creepy, and whose Fargo eventually brought these brothers the recognition they most definitely deserved - before selling out to Hollywood with tripe like Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers.

The opening scene of Millers Crossing is a great send-up of that opening scene in the Godfather, where Don Corleone has to hear the sad story of an undertaker who wants revenge. This sad story is coming from Johnny Caspar (Jon Polito), who wants permission to kill his bookie, Bernie Bernbaum (John Turturro), for telling others about Caspar's "fix" of certain fights. Doing so ruins the odds for Caspar, cuts into his own profit margin and is simply "unethical."

Caspar is telling this story to Leo (Albert Finney), the head of the Irish mob in town, and the man to whom Caspar pays out "like a green grocer." Leo refuses the request for personal reasons. He's sleeping with Bernie's sister, Verna (Marcia Gay Harden). He also gives Caspar "the high hat," sending him out of his office in full boil. This gives Leo a sound laugh but it raises the eyebrows of Tom Reagan (Gabriel Byrne), Leo's Irish version of a consigliere or war counselor. Tom thinks Leo is making a huge mistake, putting pleasure before business. He thinks Leo is making a mistake about "ethics."

What follows is a hilarious, and yet dramatically cathartic, story about honor among thieves. Co-written by the Coen Brothers (who also co-direct by having Joel credited as director and Ethan credited as its producer), Miller's Crossing is a deeply satisfying film with bells, whistles, twists and turns that are anything but predictable.

The tone of Miller's Crossing is deceptively comedic. As a "take" on the gangster drama, it is a half-step removed from spoof. In other words, instead of going for the easy joke - an Airplane! style spoof that is both obvious and aimed directly at familiar scenes - this film takes a step back. It relies on parody to bring out the familiar storyline and then tweak it into something that not only calls attention to the weaknesses of cliche, but uses its predictability to pull off some amazing reversals.

The film is littered with time-honored gangster cliches. It begins with a Godfather meeting. It involves issues of betrayal. It opens up a gang war between two sides, with at least one scene involving the abduction of the hero and another involving a hit on the boss, with a tommy-gun attack and counter-attack that are one part horror and one part satire. There is at least one beating scene (not unlike Sonny's beating of his brother-in-law in the Godfather), some Luca Brasi games of loyalty, a period of "going to the mattresses," and at least one grisly test of manhood, with a chess-like ending, full of amazing twists.

Each of these cliches turns out to be as fluid as water. Though we know what to expect of the cliche, we are never fully sure of where Miller's Crossing will take it. Unlike a spoof, which would simply ridicule the cliche (or the specific, memorable scene which gave it life) Miller's Crossing does less shredding and a lot more twisting. The result is not simply funnier; it's also more interesting.

The real meat of Miller's Crossing is its theme: ethics. To speak of ethics in this context is not, however, to speak of ordinary morals, the kind of thing you learn at church on Sunday. Instead, it's about knowing and following the widely accepted rules of engagement. Even in the gangster business, where all the players are ruthless thugs, there are rules about how things get done.

In this world, integrity has nothing to do with being moral, but everything to do with following the rules. There are temptations of the normal kind - including wine, women and song - but the real temptations are the ones that call upon a man to disregard the lessons of the past. There are always situations crying out for "special treatment" - whether it's to a woman, a brother, a child or even a victim. The "unethical" conduct is to make a sentimental exception that throws the entire game into unfamiliar territory.

The title of this film, "Miller's Crossing," comes from a stretch of woods, a bit of forest outside of town. This is a good place to kill a man if someone were inclined to do it without witnesses around. In fact, the only witnesses, in a situation like this, are the woods, themselves. Questions arise: What is a man made of? What is he willing to do for a principal? What happens if he pulls that trigger? What happens if he doesn't? Walk far enough into the woods and anyone could end up as lost as dead. That's what this film is really all about.

When this film was released in 1990, it didn't do very well. Part of that may have been the casting. Though Harden, Byrne, Turturro and Finney have long since gone on to big success in other films, they were not as big a draw back then. Another stumbling block may have been the film's take on gangsterism as a period drama. Though the period of Prohibition has long been a staple of classic gangster films, the 90s saw a bigger upsurge in modern gangster storylines, with contemporary young people living in the more familiar gutters of today's America.

Not the least of its troubles was the theme of the film, one that would set it apart from the majority of gangster films in the 90s. Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas, which came out the same year, was grittier. By comparison, this film seemed "safer," at a time when safety was being traded away for freedom and excitement. The theme of this film, that ethics require men, even gangsters, to follow rules - would find itself at odds with the many gangster dramas of the 90s, where gangsters became popular because of the "freedom" they represented. The typical crowd for a gangster film was more likely to revel in Tony Soprano's freedom to drive a big gas-guzzling SUV, boff sexy strippers, make money without a degree and pop the people who deserve it most. That crowd was less inclined to give ear to a lesson about "ethics."

Too bad for them. Miller's Crossing is one of the finest films of the period, and certainly one of the best Coen Brothers films ever made. It is an unsung hero of great lines, deft direction, and memorable performances. Marcia Gay Harden has never been sexier. Albert Finney has never been cooler. Gabriel Byrne has never been a better hero. And John Turturro has never been more sinister. This film has the timing of a great horror film, while making points as pointed and moving as any I've seen in straight-forward drama.

It is an intelligent, passionate, moving film. I don't use the words "must see" very often. In this case, I'll make an "exception."