No one's said anything yet? I guess I'll have a go. It wasn't as overtly Coen brothers as some of their other films. I like the Coen brothers a lot though. Certainly it has some very Coen moments (the Thompson Jitterbug tops the list). It definitely rode the gangster tropes pretty hard, but it was self-aware of it. It seems like it could have easily been more of a black comedy like Fargo in that way, but overall I didn't really get too much of that sense here, minus a few key parts. I thought the Atlantic article about it was overly enamored with it. It's good, yes, but it comes off ever-so-slightly awkward because it straddles a line between being a quintessential Coen film (which are somewhat ironically the elements about it that the Atlantic author dislikes) and a straight gangster film.
The language of the film is fantastic. The way the dialog flows makes me feel like I'm actually in the 1920's. Phrases like, "take your flunky and dangle" -Did people actually speak that way? When watching this film you believe they did. Back when I originally watched this movie, it was my first introduction to Gabriel Byrne, who by my estimation is a fantastic actor. As an aside, I started watching his HBO show In Treatment and it's fantastic to watch, if nothing else for his acting. As for Millers Crossing, I am one of the people that suggested it. I love the feel, the pace and the story of the film. I hope people enjoyed it. As for the film club, I'd suggest that whoever hosts the next actually watches the film. Certainly helps imo. See camarillobrillo's post here about a "war film."
Good call on this one, I had totally forgotten about it and I'm a minor Coen fanboy. And, yeah, no offense ThatsAFreeThinker, you probably should watch the movie if you're gonna host. If you're bogged down with work or something, just reach out and I'd be glad to help, I definitely loved the first discussion we had and want this to continue being a fruitful investment for everyone.
Yeah, I should mention to ThatsAFreeThinker that I'm not doggin' on them, it's a big commitment to run these things each time and I appreciate you doing it. They've been fun.
iammyownrushmore, thenewgreen Yeah I completely agree I should be watching these and I definitely try. I was particularly excited for a Coen Brother movie since my father loves them and I was looking forward to talking about this film with him but, the opportunity never arose. Back to the point; iammyownrushmore if I had known I could reach out for some help during one of the weeks, I would have, and I'll keep that in mind if anything big comes up at work again. I was curious to ask this however; does my participation, outside of being a host for the thread, matter greatly in the discussion threads? It was mentioned how well the first discussion went (which it really did) but was it my question about Bill Murray's participation that was the catalyst for all of that or was it more or less the interest in the movie itself? (Keep in mind I want to be able to participate and help out but this was just a thought I had.)
Yeah, I definitely thought about that later, I didn't mean to say that your participation alone was the reason for whether or not the discussions were fruitful, the first one was great because it was a controversial movie that everyone had already espoused particular feelings for. So I apologize for making it seem as if any part of that was directly as a result to you. It honestly just helps of people watch the film and, more so, have productive things to say, or questions to ask to garner more discussion, and when someone's name is attached directly to it, I think it's a reasonable expectation that they can help facilitate that. And for sure about the help, just reach out. I never thought there was any need to previously, so I didn't directly offer, but I got no problem with that at all! If you ever just don't have enough time or just don't want to, just ask in a post or pm if someone else will host it, everyone participating is following the #movieclub tag, so they'll catch it. I really do appreciate you setting this off, so don't read it as some angry tirade! Okay, and all that aside, you need to watch the Coen brothers!!! We could literally have a round where we just choose from their canon. No Country For Old Men is one of the best adaptations ever made, O Brother Where Art Thou is fucking sublime, and I have seen The Big Lebowski damn near 200 times, seriously. e: Also, scrimetime's article post was great, but it took a lot of the conversational wind out my sails, cause then I just felt redundant.
I definitely will let you know if I need help one of these weeks then! Thank you! Also, I love O Brother Where Art Thou and The Big Lebowski I've experienced the greatness of those movies many times over and I have Miller's Crossing ready for tonight since I have a late start tomorrow. I have a pretty good grasp of Coen brother films already but hopefully I'll see a slightly different side since Miller's Crossing seems to be a bit out of the ordinary. I'll chime in here later tonight or tomorrow with what I thought about it and also the voting thread for this week will be up later this evening.
I definitely agree that it isn't quite as "Coen" as other films of theirs, but it is one of their earliest films, and the most ambitious and well-funded up until that point, so I feel they were playing it close to the chest but with a healthy amount of experimentation, so I don't think the fan-boy take from the article is undue. I definitely appreciate the noir-detective aspect that the Coens love so much, but I think the only way the film suffers is that it's a bit light and hidden, unlike the dense emotional cartharsis that other mobster films rely on so much. Not that that is really a fault, but it sets it apart from what people expect, and feels a bit more real, as stylized as it may be, without the thick, plastered-on ethnic tropes and exploring the hidden motivations that dictate the irrational actions of their power plays.