Miller’s Crossing Chosen by directorDREW GODDARD
PHONE VOICE:That ain’t gonna
be good enough.TOM:What would be good
enough?PHONE VOICE:Lazarre ain’t
gonna like it.TOM:Tell Lazarre if he’s not
happy,hecansend someoneover to
break my legs. I won’t squawk.He hangs up. During the call Tom
has been staring at something.TOM:Hello, Bernie.We see Bernie (John Turturro),
recently spared by Tom.BERNIE:Hello, Tom. What’s
the rumpus?TOM:Come on in, make yourself
at home.BERNIE:Yeah, you weren’t here
so I thought I’d do that. I didn’t
wanna answer the phone, though.
I figured it wasn’t for me.Bernie starts cleaning a knife thathe’s been using to slice an apple.
Tom watches. Bernie laughs.BERNIE:I get it. Get to the point,
huh? Okay. The point is, I’m
a good guy.TOM:I’ve heard that from a lot of
people today.BERNIE:Good guy, lotsa friends,
that’s the way it works. Maybe
if you’d appreciated me a little
more, you wouldn’t be making
waves with Leo. It’s a bad time to
be doing that. I mean, right now,
both of us are in a jam. I hear
you’re on a bad streak, short on
funds. I got that crazy dago mad
at me. Don’t ask me why. I’m just
a small timer, trying to get by like
everyone else. I need help from
my friends, like Leo and you.TOM:Leo gets your sister.
What are you selling me?BERNIE:Come on, Tom. It’s not
like that at all. It wasn’t my idea.
She’ll sleep with anyone, you
know that. She even tried to
teach me a thing or two about
bed artistry. Can you believe that?My own sister. Some crackpot idea
about saving me from my friends.
She’s a sick twist, alright.TOM:She speaks highly of you.BERNIE:Yeah, well, you stick by
your family. The point is, I can
help you with your debts if that
would make us friends. My motto
is, a guy can’t have too many. Big
pay day Saturday, Tom. You could
be in on it.TOM:Another fix? Which fight?BERNIE:That’s confidential
at the moment. But it doesn’t
have to stay that way.TOM:How come you know so
muchaboutit?Caspar isn’t laying
any more bets with you. [Bernie
smiles] You really must have Mink
jumping through hoops.BERNIE:Like I say, you can’t
have too many. We got a deal?TOM:I’ll think about it.BERNIE:I wouldn’t want it
any other way.INT TOM’S APARTMENT
— DAYThe phone is ringing. We hear the
door open. Tom (Gabriel Byrne)
enters. He walks to the chair by
the phone, sits down, takes off his
hat. A long pause. He picks up.TOM:Yep?PHONE VOICE:Lazarre wants
his money. He wants it now.TOM:I need a coupla days.PHONE VOICE:Why a couple of
days?TOM:Because I don’t have it.PHONE VOICE:Alright. How do
I know you’ll get it?TOM:Because I say so.DREW GODDARD: “This is certainly a scene
that has been influential to me. Gabriel Byrne
comes in, sits down, answers the phone. It’s
shot from one side and when he hangs up, we
see Bernie has been sitting across from him
the entire time. Then they have the scene. It’s
an extraordinary entrance for a character.”
CLASSIC
SCENE
Standout sequences
from the
great movies