Miller's Crossing

Described by the Coens as ‘a handsome film about men in hats,’ this rich, elegant crime saga has nods and references that go far deeper than the plaintive oboe of Carter Burwell’s score. Despite showing clear inspirations from The Glass Key 's adaptations, Yojimbo and A Fistful of Dollars, the Coens enter the prohibition-era gangster film genre through the side door, constructing it around Gabriel Byrne’s Tom – a shrewd right hand man to a mob boss, yet a brooding thinker who keep his motives and intentions under his hat. In the power struggles between the gangs, Tom’s ‘ethics’ – and his love – are put to the ultimate test.

San Sebastian International Film Festival: Best Director