You know, I think about 1990 and I say, “That wasn’t so long ago.” But then reality hits me, and I revise, “1990 was 18 years ago.” In “Miller’s Crossing” I recognize the actor playing Tom (Gabriel Byrne), the leading man. He was one of the main characters in “The Usual Suspects,” which was only made five years after “Miller’s Crossing.” But Byrne looked much older for some reason; even five years seems like a lot of time. But Byrne was not the man who made me think this film was 18 years old; it was John Turturro who did that. He looked so young, he looked like a kid; it was his face.
We were told to focus on the first thing we hear and see in a film, so I did that. First came the sound, ice being dropped into something and making a “dinging” sound. Then I saw the glass cup, maybe three pieces of ice now sitting within it. Someone pours a drink into it, picks it up and walks away. Then came Johnny Caspar’s monologue. I noticed half way through Casper’s speech, which he probably had to think really hard about before he arrived, the man who had poured himself a drink was guy standing behind Leo. Then it turns out that he is the central man of the movie. So the first thing viewers see is Tom’s actions.
Speaking of these actions, Tom pouring the drink, it might be a foreshadowing of what currently looks like a drinking problem. Every time I have seen Tom on the screen, he, at some point, is drinking some sort of alcoholic beverage. That might be a possibility, but I’m just speculating. I truly enjoy the fact that Tom, who fulfills the same role as Ned/Ed/Sanjura, actually has a gambling problem. It pains me to watch a movie that does not much to do about the book it is based off of. The film “The Glass Key” was a lot like the novel, but I feel important factors were left out. At least it was not like the movie and book versions of “I,Robot.” I actually preferred the movie to the book, but that’s just me. But so far, even though “Miller’s Crossing” does not have the same title or characters in it, I can see hints of “The Glass Key” all across the screen.
