writ. & dir. Joel and Ethan Coen
feat. Gabriel Byrne, Albert Finney, Marcia Gay Harden, John Turturro, John Polito, J.E. Freeman
Tom Reagan (Byrne) is a good man, and it will ruin him. The Coen bros obscure this fundamental truth that rules Miller's Crossing, Tom's mean-spirited, defiant demeanor and a complexly woven plot disguising his well-meaning motives. Tom's venomous mantra, "Nobody knows anybody. Not that well," intended to declare his distrust for anyone and everyone, bites back, effectively showing that he can't trust himself, his self-serving attitude merely a cover, even a wish, while his deeply buried moral compass guides him to unavoidably help those he loves. Loyalty burns Tom, forcing his hand, even his seemingly traitorous acts circling back to prove him trustworthy.
And just because he's a good man doesn't make him a nice man. He's brutally righteous, and in the wrong business, ultimately forced to choose righteousness over love and friendship with devastating results.
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