Miller’s Crossing Chosen by directorDREW GODDARD
PHONEVOICE:Thatain’t gonna
begoodenough.
TOM:Whatwould be good
enough?
PHONEVOICE:Lazarre ain’t
gonnalikeit.
TOM:TellLazarreif he’snot
happy,hecansendsomeoneoverto
breakmylegs.I won’tsquawk.
Hehangsup.DuringthecallTom
hasbeenstaringatsomething.
TOM:Hello,Bernie.
WeseeBernie(JohnTurturro),
recentlysparedbyTom.
BERNIE:Hello,Tom. What’s
therumpus?
TOM:Comeon in, make yourself
athome.
BERNIE:Yeah,youweren’there
soI thoughtI’ddothat.I didn’t
wannaanswerthephone,though.
I figuredit wasn’tforme.
Bernie starts cleaning a knife that
he’sbeenusingtosliceanapple.
Tomwatches.Bernielaughs.
BERNIE:I getit.Gettothepoint,
huh?Okay.Thepoint is,I’m
a goodguy.
TOM:I’veheardthat from a lot of
peopletoday.
BERNIE:Goodguy,lotsafriends,
that’sthewayit works.Maybe
if you’dappreciatedmea little
more, youwouldn’tbemaking
waveswithLeo.It’sa badtimeto
bedoingthat.I mean,rightnow,
bothofusareina jam.I hear
you’reona badstreak,shorton
funds.I gotthatcrazydagomad
atme.Don’taskmewhy.I’mjust
a smalltimer,tryingtogetbylike
everyoneelse.I needhelpfrom
myfriends,likeLeoandyou.
TOM:Leogetsyoursister.
Whatareyousellingme?
BERNIE:Comeon,Tom.It’snot
likethatatall.It wasn’tmyidea.
She’llsleepwithanyone,you
knowthat.Sheeventriedto
teachmea thingortwoabout
bed artistry. Can you believe that?
Myownsister.Somecrackpotidea
aboutsavingmefrommyfriends.
She’sa sicktwist,alright.
TOM:Shespeakshighlyofyou.
BERNIE:Yeah,well,youstickby
yourfamily.Thepointis,I can
helpyouwithyourdebtsif that
wouldmakeusfriends.Mymotto
is,a guycan’thavetoomany.Big
paydaySaturday, Tom. You could
beinonit.
TOM:Anotherfix?Whichfight?
BERNIE:That’sconfidential
atthemoment.Butit doesn’t
havetostaythatway.
TOM:Howcomeyouknowso
muchaboutit?Casparisn’tlaying
anymorebetswithyou.[Bernie
smiles] Youreallymusthave Mink
jumpingthroughhoops.
BERNIE:LikeI say,youcan’t
havetoomany.Wegota deal?
TOM:I’llthinkaboutit.
BERNIE:I wouldn’t wantit
any other way.
INTTOM’SAPARTMENT
—DAY
Thephoneis ringing.Wehearthe
dooropen.Tom(GabrielByrne)
enters.Hewalkstothechairby
thephone,sitsdown,takesoffhis
hat.A longpause. He picks up.
TOM:Yep?
PHONEVOICE:Lazarrewants
hismoney.Hewantsit now.
TOM:I needa coupladays.
PHONEVOICE:Why a couple of
days?
TOM:BecauseI don’thaveit.
PHONEVOICE:Alright. Howdo
I knowyou’llgetit?
TOM:Because I say so.
DREWGODDARD:“Thisis certainlya scene
thathasbeeninfluentialtome.GabrielByrne
comesin,sitsdown,answersthephone.It’s
shotfromonesideandwhenhehangsup,we
seeBerniehasbeensittingacrossfromhim
theentiretime.Thentheyhavethescene.It’s
an extraordinary entrance for a character.”
CLASSIC
SCENE
Standoutsequences
fromthe
great movies