Heartless Heroism — Looking into Protagnistic Behaviour in Miller’s Crossing
There are few films to exist with as much recognition that are similar to Miller’s Crossing (Coen, 1990) and its conventions. The Coen brothers’ 3rd installment in their film-making careers boasts of a unique storyline and character alike. The movie itself stretches across many genres, from neo-noir gangster and mafia to a mystery thriller sprinkled with sparks of comedy here and there. However, what catches your eye when watching for the first and subsequent times is the strange world that it is set in. A New Orleans-inspired city in the late 1920s where characters are openly gay and not discriminated against despite being in an era where LGBTQIA relationships would have been criminalized. It begs the question of what else could be peculiar within the world of Miller’s Crossing and its characters. And why not a better figure than the central protagonist, the straight-talking, hard-drinking advisor Tom Reagan?
Without a doubt, Tom Reagan is the main character of Miller’s Crossing but placing him as the hero is questionable. One thing to note is that there is a noticeable difference between the protagonist & the hero. Simply put, the protagonist is the character who drives the plot forward. This is well evident with Tom as the audience follows most of the film from Tom’s point of view. It is through these perspectives that abet in the realization that Tom really is unfit to be the hero. Within the realm of cinematography and media, what does it mean to be a hero? According to the renowned retro video game Quest for Glory II, they are a person who “works not just for glory and … not for gain”. Instead, we see a man who, although often cool calm, and collected, is more immature and irresponsible when it comes to gambling and not wearing his top hat. A person who “hasn’t pulled a winner in six weeks.” It goes to show that Tom’s manner of going about life is not one that is fit to be the stereotypical hero that is seen in most.
Before moving on, I would like to appreciate what I found fascinating about the film — the Coen brothers’ emphasis on hats. They are portrayed as a tell-tale sign of the characters’ attitudes. When on, they are composed, often more smart and aware of their actions and surroundings. Take Leo at the start of the movie, realizing that protecting Bernie Bernbaum is a “bad play” and the potential of Leo’s decision leading to a gang war. Contrast this to when Bernie threatens Tom after the latter has decided to spare him. Tom rashly tries to flank Bernie, only to be tripped by Bernie and fall down, showing a difference in power at that point in time. It is here where we see Tom no longer has his hat, indicating that he has lost his sense of composure and analytical thinking, whilst Bernie walks off still wearing his hat suggesting that he calculated that this might have happened. Another example includes the red-faced, hatless Johnny Caspar when he thinks he has been given the high hat.
What Tom can be considered to be is the nominal hero. An unconventional character who often keeps to themselves and often acts with selfish motives and without worrying about the health of others. This aspect of Tom isn’t seen until the halfway mark of the movie when Leo kicks him out of his mob, ultimately firing him from being his advisor. It is from this point that he acts for himself, snitching on Bernie’s location even though Verna trusts him. What we need to note here is that Tom took this action for himself and his own motives. After being abandoned by Leo, Tom perhaps felt a personal enticement to go to the antagonist (Johnny Caspar) in some way, further embedding this notion of the nominal hero as revenge is a common driving factor for these types of characters. Moreover, at the closing climax scenes of the movie, Tom manages to manipulate both Johnny and Bernie to meet up at the same place (interesting to notice that Tom has his hat on from most of this plan). This results in killing Johnny thinking that it was Tom and ultimately the former advisor shooting Bernie straight in his forehead. The Coen Brothers acknowledge Tom’s actions and show that he knew Johnny would die and went along with it. Nominal as a word means to exist only in name or form, implying that Tom isn’t a fit character to be just the hero of the movie. But it is these endeavors powered by selfishness and driven with regard to the death of others that the protagonist takes in the second half of the film that establishes Tom’s status as the nominal hero of Miller’s Crossing.
Tom’s decisions at the beginning of the movie hint at the fact that he is an emotionless figure, focused on business. His serious and cold demeanor is set in place from the get-go when he suggests handing off Bernie to Johnny Caspar. Despite Bernie paying for his protection Tom can see that one man’s life isn’t worth the possible repercussions of a gang war. While this may be business motivated, we later see Bernie’s sister Verna, who acts as both Tom and Leo’s love interest. A woman who will “do what [she has] to do to protect Bernie”. This notion of Tom being heartless strikes as even though he is familiar with someone who cares about Bernie, he still would prefer for Bernie’s life to be gone. This additionally touches on the aspect of the nominal hero who doesn’t mind if people die. The Coen brothers suggest to the audience that Tom is a man who lays out the pros and cons of a situation, doing what must be done even if the outcome is considered cold and ruthless.
However, as the film progresses Tom’s cruel attitude begins to act almost as a façade, exposing cracks as he comes face to face with his actions. Ironically, one of these cracks appears in a situation related to Bernie. This refers once again to the scene of Bernie being abducted after Tom tells Caspar of his location. Information that had been told to Tom with trust by Verna. The viewer is exposed to a close-up shot of Tom whilst Bernie is beaten in the back boot of a car. Whilst this is another example of a heartless act, the audience is made to see Tom’s first few glimpses of guilt as he betrays Verna, who had “told [Tom] where he was”. Instead of having the camera look at Bernie’s beating, it focuses on Tom, transitioning from a medium to a close shot. The Coen brothers take the audience away from the action and immerse it into the emotion Tom is experiencing. The angle of the shot is at eye level looking at Tom from the side, as if we are in the seat next to him, allowing an intrusive view into what Tom does and feels. The severity of the emotion Tom is feeling may have been high as he does nothing throughout the scene. Not having a way to manage one’s feelings and ultimately not taking action are common signs of overwhelming guilt The further lack of music accompanied by the sole audible stimulation of Bernie’s wails for panic and the visual stimulation of Tom’s face encourages the audience of the between the two characters and what type of change this scenario will bring to it.
The very idea of Tom’s heart comes into play just a few scenes and a ride out to Miller’s Crossing later when Tom points a gun in the face of a distraught but still standing Bernie begging him to “look into [his] heart”. It is out here in the deep of the forest that the audience witnesses a major turning point in Tom’s character. The two characters are placed in an isolated world, much different from the dull habitat of extravagant buildings and warehouses. The over-the-shoulder camera angle induces a sense in the viewer that they are only peeping into the scene, and that they are not really involved in the conversation.
Thus the audience has no influence over Tom’s following actions of sparing Bernie. It is at this point in time that Tom has been the most emotionally exposed in the film. A man who does seem to acknowledge his own emotions and has a heart. But what the Coesns also want to highlight is that Tom’s mercy toward Bernie is the result of the build-up of guilt that has originated since he betrayed Verna. It is only then, in an isolated segment deep in the wood, different in the environment, the number of eyes that watch his every move, and the audience mere spectators to the interaction was Tom able to show a sense of heart.
Through Tom’s character, the Coens address the affair of the masculine desire to put up a façade of not caring and an emotionless mask. Nowadays, this ideology of men having to be unfeeling workers of society sharpened with strength and labor is beginning to be rejected and men are encouraged more to open up. The Coen brothers’ decision to implement this concept in their third film at the beginning of the 1990s is another factor that makes Miller’s Crossing interesting. During its years prior to, during after production men were still expected to be the breadwinners of the family and women to stay at home tending to the children. Perhaps this maneuver within the film impacted the change in public opinion of gender roles much later in that decade.
Despite the emotional growth Tom Reagan develops, he ultimately loses touch with his heart. After having spared Bernie, a series of events come down to bombard Tom ranging from Bernie returning to threaten him to the Dane beating him for the death of Mink. And soon enough we come back around to the scene discussed earlier. Tom shoots Bernie dead on the forehead. This feat in itself shows the heartless and cold demeanor of Tom similar to the the start of the film return with the same knowledge in mind; “giving up Bernie was the only way [he] could see to straighten things out”. Throughout this scene, a suspenseful tune starts to hum, the ring of a triangle with each step Tom takes closer to Bernie. Once again we see Bernie fall to the ground begging for Tom to “look in [his] heart”, referring to their previous encounter in the woods where Tom was deemed to have a heart by The music suddenly takes a dark turn, transitioning from a moderate to a deeper lower tone of trombone indicating something dark is about to happen. When this lower change in music occurs, the camera flips to Tom at a low angle, depicting the difference in power position between the two and indicating that Tom is the one who is about to commit such a ruthless act. Instead of a forgiving response this time, Tom snaps back with “what heart” before the shot. Via Tom shooting Bernie, the Coen brothers directly hint at the audience that Tom is aware that having a heart in his gang-revolved life is only going to get him threats from those he spares and beatdowns from those who despise him.
Tom Reagan, nominally the hero of Miller Crossing, is a man who does have a heart. However, it is a heart that has been concealed by harsh decisions and pitiless actions he has been prompted to make a living in a world of gangs and violence. In most cases, Tom is a man who fronts business, weighing the pros and cons of each dilemma and performing them regardless of his emotional input. However, once Tom breaks free from the vices of his violent world and abounds with emotions of guilt, we can see that he does have a heart. It is the world he lives in and the world he eventually rejects that inhibits him from opening up his heart.
