By DeeDee Spears.
This is another one of those films that I saw a few years ago but at the time I never fully appreciated how brilliant it really was. When it comes to the works of the Coen brothers there are so many bloody good films to chose from. Whether its oddball comedy or thought provoking drama, chances are the Coen brothers have had a “go” at the Genre. Im usually not an avid fan of “Period Piece” films as I have seen a few of them done terribly but in watching this film I was amazed at how much attention to detail there was going into the film which was a pleasant surprise compared to some of the terrible period pieces I have seen in the past. “Millers Crossing” features 2 Actors whom I believe never really got the credit they deserved in Hollywood and 1 Actor whom I believe should of been Giant among the more mature Actors of today.
I’m referring to Steve Buscemi and Marcia Gay Harden. Steve Buscemi is usually used as the punchy bit part Actor who makes a huge Impact in the short amount of screen time he is given (Desperado, Con Air, The Big Lebowski) the man has this down to an Art Form. To be able to do this requires a “Hell” of a lot of skill and charm. In his scenes in most films people find themselves drawn to his characters and in this film he is no different. Than we have Marcia Gay Harden. I first noticed her in Frank Darabont’s “The Mist” which her portrayal of Crazed Religious fanatic “Rose Barlow” honestly “creeped the shit outta me”.
She was that convincing to a fault. Than I got to see her work again in Clint Eastwoods powerful “Mystic River” in which I felt she stood out amongst the “Stacked” ensemble cast which she worked with in that film which is by any means no small feat. Than we go onto the Actor whom I feel was the Power behind “Millers Crossing” and I believe should be up amongst the Deniro’s and Pacino’s of our time. Albert Finney (you thought I was gonna say Gabriel Byrne dind’t you) I believe is an Actor who IS being under utilized by Hollywood and. Albert Finney and Brian Cox (I know but I couldn’t help myself I’m a huge Brian Cox fan) are 2 Actors whom I believe should have greater status in Hollywood. Both are renown Powerful performers who flawlessly portray any emotion they are given. Albert Finney pretty much sets the tone for “Millers Crossing” with the brilliant finishing touches provided by Gabriel Byrne, John Turturro and the rest of this brilliant cast.
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One Comment
This prompted me to peruse about half of The Drowning Pool – 133 pages or so – to see how many similes I could count. (I’m using the Vintage Crime Black Lizard edition from May 1996). I counted thirty four and no doubt missed a few. I haven’t done the legwork, but I think some of the later books might have a slightly higher ratio. That’s a lot, but in any case I would argue that many of Macdonald’s similes are so strong that they infinitely enrich the work. Not only that – they are so strong that they put many “serious” writers of fiction to shame.
http://postmoderndeconstructionmadhouse.blogspot.com/2014/11/ross-macdonald-drowning-pool.html#.VGiE3jTF_xA