Compared with Nicolas Winding Refn’s previous picture Drive, there’s not much happening in Only God Forgives. But there was so much going on in Drive — all those irons in the fire — that the comparison is a little unfair. The better comparison is The Neon Demon.
So I understand the underwater rating aggregate, but I like simple stories. The point of Only God Forgives is not so much the story, but a terrific visual draw and great style. And it’s got a pulse. I’ll take this over Miller’s Crossing any time. 6/10
Viewing notes: in Thai and English. Somehow I watched for free on Amazon Prime, as the film was no longer available on iTunes. After watching, it said something about watch free with ads, and also that it’s linked to my IMDb (app). Not sure what happened there, but I’ll take the free viewing. There were no ads, and I discontinued Prime a few weeks earlier.
There are many David Lynch amalgamations on the interwebs (this is the first time, by the way, that I’ve used the word “interwebs,” for those who are counting), but this one is kinda special. At times I’ve wished David Lynch would make more films, but watching this, and thinking about Naomi Watts and Stanley Kubrick, lets me reflect upon all his work. And affirms in me even deeper the understanding of how prolific David Lynch has been and continues to be, and that, yes, he is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.
I recall that when Miller’s Crossing first arrived on screens there was a to-do about it, and ever since then I’ve always considered — without ever having watched it — a grand statement picture. You can have those opinions about films without ever seen them. I’ve never seen The Godfather, but I understand it’s importance and landmark status. I also thoroughly understood the magnitude of Lawrence of Arabia before and after viewing.
Nobody would compare the stature of Miller’s Crossing with that of Lawrence of Arabia, but they share one big commonality: they both have stature, and they are both overrated disappointments.
Which is to say that as great as some may consider Miller’s Crossing, it is in fact one of the Coens’ lesser films.
The biggest problem is that I did not give a flying f- about any of these characters. Mad Men and Breaking Bad taught us that characters don’t have to be sympathetic, pleasant or nice to hold the audience absolutely rapt. In Fargo, Jerry Lundegaard was, I think, very sympathetic if otherwise a loser. No matter how characters are shaded, they have to be compelling. In Miller’s Crossing, we have none of that.
There’s something a little enigmatic about Gabriel Byrne’s lead, and a little too with the supporting characters, but not nearly enough to hold the story.
And there were some logic issues, for example how realistic is it to have the crap beat out of your main character on a regular basis just to see him skipping-to-the-Lou my darling a minute later? Wikipedia cites an “intricate plot” – but I think it’s all too comic-booky without intending to be so. Almost like a farce of the hard-boiled gangster flick while trying to be all too serious.
Having said all that, there are some terrific sequences, such as one where a hit is being attempted at the home of a rival mob boss. The relentless beat of machine gun fire drives through a brilliantly crafted scene which left me agape. And I admit there is something monumental about Miller’s Crossing. But plot-wise, story-wise, and character-wise, there is also something very small. 5/10
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A note on one of my favorite and tragically short-lived — in more ways than one — character actors, J. E. Freeman, a bright spot of Miller’s Crossing. I first saw him as the business-only — but with a comic evil edge — Marcellus Santos in David Lynch’s thrill ride Wild at Heart. A few years later I had the pleasure of seeing him in Jeunet’s greatly underrated Alien: Resurrection. He was SO good — you absolutely relish those scenes as does he.
Tragically, he passed away too young in 2014 at age 68. Wish he had been in a lot more movies.
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Comparison Notes: L.A. Confidential (which I also didn’t like), The Untouchables, Cookie’s Fortune, any other gangster/mob film.
movies remark 