What are we expecting when we're looking forward to gangster movies? The action, the gunfights, the overthrow of the gangs, the counterattack of the little people, etc., these elements, as a viewer, are mostly happy to see. However, for the creators, how to construct these ordinary elements into a wonderful story is a matter of effort. A good gangster film is not about the number of elements, but about the subtlety of the story. Of course, we have not yet considered literary films, and in general, the exquisite story is far better than others. If you want the story to be exquisite, the reversal naturally cannot be less.
Inversion, this direct stimulation often makes a gangster movie come to life. Of course, how to reverse, at what time, this is another study. The answer is naturally in the writer and director. The film recommended to you today is full of reversals in itself, and at the same time it can make many people look at it, because the reversal in this film can be described as unexpected, reasonable, and I think it may be possible to bring a series of gangster films back to life. This is Miller's Crossroads.
Gangster Leo has a dedicated killer and friend Tom. The two fall in love with the same woman, Wiener, and in order to win Weina's heart, Tom and Leo turn against each other and eventually part ways. Leo publicly expelled Tom from him, and Tom ended up defecting to Leo's nemesis, Caspar. But at this point, the story is just beginning.
In order to test Tom's loyalty, Casper ordered him to shoot a man who was none other than Bernie, the brother of Tom's beloved woman, Veena, and Tom couldn't bear to let Bernie go, but such kindness did bad things. Bernie uses this as a threat to get Tom to kill Casper. So, faced with a dilemma, Tom made his own choice.
Of course, if you reason it is reasonable, the story in this film is not so complicated, but in fact, the logic of such a story itself is smooth, and the reason why it will be interpreted differently by the audience is that there are many complex branches between the simple story lines, and these branches are the essence of the whole story. This film is co-directed by the Coen brothers, so when we sort it out according to extraordinary logic, we will find that the original story of this film is not so friendly. The reason why most people don't feel the development of the plot is very simple, the development route of the script of this film is always uncertain, but when you really think that it is wandering, this film gives an answer. This is elusive, and it is also the essence of this film.
As a film noir, the story and character design of this film follow the logic of general film noir, Tom is a complex character, such a character at the beginning of the audience feels very deep and calm. Under this personality, it indicates that Tom himself is a protagonist, usually in film noir, the protagonist is always not close to the female color, and can always do things to win. However, considering the complex environment of this film, the probability of Tom's final wish being disappointed seems to be greater. Fortunately, the screenwriter covered up such speculation with a plot.
If you look at the ending, it seems that Tom's wish has not been disappointed, but what price has Tom paid for it? In ordinary gangster films, the end of the traitor is always double-killed with the big guy, Tom has already met the logic of such a display after being kicked out by Leo, and Tom has naturally entered Leo's nemesis Casper after leaving Leo. In this way, the audience will naturally perceive that there will be a battle between Tom and Leo, and this time the fight will form a lose-lose situation. However, as the story progresses, the audience naturally feels that their wishes have been disappointed.
When everyone thinks that Leo was betrayed by Tom, there will be a lose-lose outcome, and almost everyone feels that Tom and Leo's battle for Wiener will make the bad relationship between the two people white-hot. However, at this time, the screenwriter made the plot take a sharp turn. Tom did not fall out with Leo because of all the fortuitous factors that smoothly carried out an "inevitable" plan. It's an exaggeration to say that such a plan is seamless, but it can be implemented without being favored by the outside world, which is in itself an incredible, but Tom has made this incredible come true.
This is the charm of the screenwriter, we can't harshly blame the screenwriter why he has to open to Tom's perspective on God at every turn, many people will naturally ignore the ultimate direction of everything Tom does when watching this film. Everyone thought Tom had defected, but later, the creators let this feeling that lasted for more than a hundred minutes collapse at the end of the film. This seems unreasonable, but come to think of it, this irrationality can be justified, and the reasons for persuasion are also very good. Since then, Tom's stepping on the point has been several notches higher.
The brilliance of the Coen brothers in this film cannot be completely predicted, and only by seeing the end can we understand whether this is a good film or not. Even if the audience's hopes are often disappointed, in this extraordinary plot structure, the disappointed hopes often constitute a more surprising story. It's also worth it.
……
Hello and goodbye