Miller’s Crossing Review

Miller’s Crossing is somewhat a merge between the gangster and noir genres. There is the quippy dialogue of a gangster film along with the darker undertones of a noir film. And while this largely works, the merging of genres makes it so some smaller issues are much more prominent. This is helped by a very interesting plot surrounding the idea of bodyguards, and what it means to trust someone. It also explores the idea of dealing with the consequences of murder. All of this made it odd that there was comedy sprinkled throughout. I did think the comedy was good, but it kind of ruined the pacing for me. It just wasn’t incorporated quite right. This is, on the other hand, backed up by a fairly decent cast. There were some moments that I felt were over the top, but largely, I liked it.

The film actually looks surprisingly good. All of the shots felt inspired, and while I remember a lot of the shots, I can’t say the same for the story. I remember thinking it was good, but it was also extremely bland. This was partially due to its major tonal imbalance. As I said, there are some lighter and darker moments throughout, I don’t feel that they are mushed together all that well. This seeps through into multiple other problems I had. For example, while I loved the aesthetic and look, I hated the costumes. Just about everyone was wearing the exact same costume the entire time. Obviously, this makes it hard to tell who’s who, this led me to thinking that the characters are two dimensional the entire story. It was kind of like a domino effect. It does seem like a small thing, but it genuinely bothered me.

To put it plainly, Miller’s Crossing is fairly generic in terms of story. But, the way it is structured and, more so, in the way it looks, definitely make it worth at least considering watching. 6.8/10