Film Review | "Miller's Crossroads": Gambler Theory

Theodore 2022-03-25 09:01:07

It is one of the pleasures of movie fans to look at the Hong Kong translation titles of various movies.

No matter how nice the movie's name is, once you arrive in Hong Kong, it's like entering a refrigerator full of leeks, and sooner or later you'll have to smell it. Hong Kong has its unique regional culture, and this cultural style is strongly reflected in the titles of Hong Kong translated films, such as "Snowflake High" ("Frozen"), "Two Million" ("No Country for Old Men") ), "The Dream of the Talented" ("Barton Funk"), etc., to name a few.

However, it has to be said that the seemingly vulgar Hong Kong translation of the title is somewhat reasonable. For example, at first glance, "The Gangster Fight" allows the audience to grasp the theme of the film better than "Miller's Crossing." Indeed, this film tells the story of a man who is dealing with the open and secret struggle between the two factions of the gang. It can't be better described as "Dragon and Tiger Fight".

However, the overly blunt paraphrasing deprives the title of a message that is crucial to understanding the film. Relatively speaking, "Miller's Crossroads", translated according to the original name, is like a landscape painting that pursues resemblance rather than shape, retaining a subtle and forbearing style. This style is the overall tone of the film's story, and our analysis today might start with the title.

Everything the Coen brothers wanted to say about the story of the film is hidden in the imagery of "Miller's Crossroads".

As the opening credits fade in and out, an upward shot slowly sweeps across the sky covered by the sparse canopy in the arbor forest. Then, a hat falls on the forest floor covered with dead leaves, and the focus of the camera fades away as the hat is blown into the depth of field by the wind. Attentive viewers will soon discover in the process of watching the film that there are inextricable connections between the two scenes at the beginning of the film and the plot of the story.

The upward shot of the canopy and the sky is actually Tom's subjective lens. At the time, Tom was forced to go to Miller's crossroads in order to prove to Dan whether he had killed the Jewish guy Bernie. Tom led a group of people through the woods, with a ruthless muzzle behind and a "corpse" that did not exist in front. Like a bird trapped in a cage, he looks up at the sky that symbolizes freedom - can he escape this time?

To fully understand where Tom is now, we have to have a holistic view of the storyline.

The opening prologue has brought to light the main conflict that dominates the film. The Italian gang leader Casper made huge profits by manipulating the odds of boxing matches. However, the Jewish guy Bernie always leaked the results of the boxing matches "arranged" in advance, which made Casper very angry. So he went to ask Leo, the boss who controls the local gang and politics, to punish Bernie, but Leo did not agree because he fell in love with Bernie's sister Vina.

The whole story revolves around the conflict between Leo and Casper, which is the backdrop for Tom's activities. In the fierce conflict between the two factions of the gang, Tom acted as a think tank similar to the "strategist" in "The Godfather". Although Leo and Casper both hold Tom highly, Tom is essentially just a doorman with no power or money. Then what did he rely on when he went out to walk the rivers and lakes? Of course morality and ingenuity.

The story background of "Miller's Crossroads" is set in the United States in the 1920s. At that time, the implementation of Prohibition Law brought the prosperity of the liquor black market, and the considerable profits of brewing and selling bootleg wine became a breeding ground for gangster organizations. Leo and Casper were among them. Gangs control the political world and the police station, as if to become local rulers. In such an environment, the law has become a dead letter.

Since the relationship between people can no longer be guaranteed by law, the whole society is forced to return to a "primitive state". In the human society of the extrajudicial land, the only currency in use is "morality". Casper made the film's theme clear at the very beginning of the story: "I'm talking about friendship, I'm talking about character, I'm talking about... morality!"

That's why the sensitive gangster film is still a popular story genre, because it promotes an ideal quality of human society - "morality". Of course, there is no force to force the characters in the film to practice morality, and there are also many people who have no credibility, such as Bernie who wiped Casper's oil. If those who are not righteous benefit from it, then why should we be righteous?

The answer is that morality belongs to a higher intelligence. Human beings are social animals. Regardless of the basic level of law or higher level of morality, the fundamental purpose is to maintain order and ensure the normal operation of the entire society. Therefore, a society based on morality is a win-win society. In the end, morality will not harm individual interests, and morality allows everyone to make money.

Tom is a man with a bottom line, and his bottom line is a sense of morality. There are many things he can't allow himself to do, such as betraying Leo, or killing Bernie. However, when people are under the eaves, how can they not bow their heads. Tom is powerless and powerless, like someone else's marionette, his status is given by bigwigs like Leo and Casper, which also means that Leo and Casper can take it back at any time.

The love affair with Vera complicates Tom's already difficult situation. One is the woman he loves deeply, the other is the brother who is sincere, and the other is the moral bottom line that he cannot break through. How to balance the relationship between the three is the biggest problem for Tom. Just like Jiang Wen's line in "Let the Bullets Fly", what Tom wants is "to earn money while standing".

Tom's problems cannot be solved directly with money and violence, but he has a deep understanding of people's hearts, insight into the current situation, calm and calm, and can always find ways to achieve his goals indirectly:

Bernie broke the rules of the road by eating inside and out. It is right for Casper to ask him to be punished; Vina loves his siblings, and it is also right for Leo to protect Bernie; Leo loves Vina deeply and protects himself women should be. The only thing that shouldn't be mixed together is that Leo is threatened in the gang fire, which Tom doesn't want to see.

In order to persuade Leo to stop, Tom revealed his relationship with Vera; in order to make up for his betrayal to Leo, Tom sneaked into Casper's side to act as an undercover agent; in order to keep his promise to Vera, Tom released him in the woods. Bernie's way out. Going all the way to the end, Tom saved himself from guilt on either side. That's why Verna says he "always goes around in a big circle to get what he wants".

Some people may say that this is not the case at the end of the film: Tom shot Bernie, lost Verna, and refused Leo's request for reconciliation. He obviously lost everything. Yes, if you don't count Tom's hat, it is. But because of that hat, everything is different.

As an object that appears and emphasizes repeatedly in the film, the meaning of Tom's hat is worthy of careful study: when Tom described his dream to Vera, he said that he dreamed "I was walking in the woods and came A gust of wind blew off his hat." We can think of this dream as a reflection of Tom's anxiety about reality.

For a man walking on the edge of a knife, a hat is his life, dignity and bottom line. Once the hat falls off, it means that he is likely to lose face in front of everyone at this moment, maybe he will be beaten by Leo, or maybe he will be killed by a gun on the back. So, we understand why Tom takes his hat so seriously.

Tom killed Bernie not for Casper or Leo, but for himself, because Bernie was a person with no moral bottom line, and he touched the bottom line of Tom's principles. Tom was reluctant to reconcile with Leo, not because Leo had humiliated him in front of everyone, but because Tom handed over his beloved woman to Leo - Tom is dignified, how could he look at Vina and What about Leo getting married and indifferent?

The most important thing in Tom's heart is his sense of morality, his principles and bottom line. His hat means everything, the belief and value of his life. Therefore, Tom seems to have lost everything, but in fact he has gained everything, and he maintains the meaning of his life.

Finally, I leave you with an interesting question: why does Tom still want to bet on the horse when he knows that the bet is being manipulated, but he will lose every bet?

Because he is not gambling on horse racing, but on the current situation of people's hearts.

For Miao.

View more about Miller's Crossing reviews

Extended Reading
  • Emiliano 2022-04-20 09:01:36

    The shot of the kid with the wig is amazing! The dialogue is also excellent

  • Rico 2022-04-20 09:01:36

    it's not so good. Smart people don't always have good luck. It is better to be a devil than a Faust.

Miller's Crossing quotes

  • Johnny Caspar: I'm talkin' about friendship. I'm talkin' about character. I'm talkin' about - hell. Leo, I ain't embarrassed to use the word - I'm talkin' about ethics.

  • Terry: The old man's still an artist with a Thompson.