MovieChat Forums > Miller's Crossing (1990) Discussion > Why they didn't check ... (spoilers)

Why they didn't check ... (spoilers)

posted 11 years ago by ElMaruecan82
5 replies | jump to latest

I'm sure everyone of us wondered why they didn't check if Bernie was dead or not.

For me, it didn't ruin my appreciation of the film and didn't ask too much in terms of suspension of disbelief, I thought it was plausible ... still, not very probable that the suspicious Dane wouldn't go there to check. Even for Tom, it was quite a risk he took, he wasn't 100% sure they wouldn't come.

I'm asking this because it's probably the most crucial part of the plot, and the rest of the story depends on the trust they put on Tom at that very moment.

"Darth Vader is scary and I The Godfather"

[–] roby2358 11 years ago

I don't think we're talking about the sharpest utensils in the kitchen here.

You actually make a good point. But the Dane agrees with you, and they say that he beat the hell out of the goons for failing to check. I forget the Dane's line, but it's something like, "Maybe you got too many teeth left."

A lot of the plot depends not just on Tom being smarter than everyone else, but the others being kind of incompetent. The drama of the movie is that at any moment they could compare notes and see right through Tom's game.

I always liked how the Dane knew what was going on, *did* follow up and double-check -- he was the most competent villain of the bunch. And yet Tom still got to Caspar and out-maneuvered him.

[–] Nikon11 11 years ago

Again, I agree with you, roby.

Tic Tac and Frankie never even thought about it - that Tom wouldn't shoot Bernie. The Dane told them go with Tom to pick up Bernie, and then take him to Miller's Crossing to kill him, and have Tom do the shooting. They weren't told to check on it. It didn't occur to them that Tom wouldn't do as he was told.

[–] Vashramana 9 years ago

I don't buy that excuse. They were both professional criminals, and should have gone with Tom to witness the execution. What if Bernie grew some balls and got the better of Tom? If he needed backup they were way too far away to help. Not only that, but they were also aware that Tom has never killed anybody, cold feet anybody?

[–] normkerr123 8 years ago

the key point is that Tom takes risks, huge risks, at many key points in the plot

he's a gambler, and that's what gamblers do

when they are winning they look like Einstein, and when they are losing they look reckless and foolish

[–] karlhinze (11) 2 years ago

It’s a plot device unfortunately. The Coens probably came to a bit of a dead end and the best they could do to move on was to make it so they didn’t go with Tom into the woods.

A few comments here giving other “excuses”, but they’re delusional. It’s by far the weakest part of the story.