MILLER'S CROSSING

I've been watching a lot of HBO's new series "In Treatment" this week and I really have been loving it. I'm a big fan of writer-driven work and this show is essentially 2 people in a room talking and nothing else. It's incredibly powerful and one of my favorite things about it is the show's star, Mr. Gabriel Byrne.

Byrne is an actor I've admired for years and one of my favorite films with him is the 1990 Coen Brothers film MILLER'S CROSSING.

It's been a big year for the Coens and I loved NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. But I'm going to go out on a limb and say MILLER'S CROSSING is their best film. The dialogue pops louder than a tommy gun and the operatic performances from a stellar supporting cast fuel the film's beautifully violent ballet. Maybe it just came along and hit me at the perfect age (14) but for me this film is even more fantastic than FARGO or any of their other more critically praised films. Don't believe me? Then let's look at a scene which is essentially just two people in a room talking. Here are the first five minutes from MILLER'S CROSSING: