SOURCE: "Neo-Classic Hammett," in Sight and Sound, Vol. 60, No. 1, Winter, 1991, pp. 64-65.

In the following review, Pulleine praises Miller's Crossing for its unity of plot and structure.

Blood Simple, the first feature of Joel Coen (writer-director) and his brother Ethan (writer-producer), was widely seen as updating the protocols of the school of writing most readily associated with James M. Cain. Now, after the high-pitched comic detour of Raising Arizona, the Coens have turned for inspiration to a different area of crime writing, the novels of Dashiell Hammett. This time they have adhered to the period of the originals: the milieu of Miller's Crossing is an unspecified American city during Prohibition. The makers have spoken of echoing the 'dirty town' premise of Red Harvest, though in fact the narrative bears a more particular resemblance to The Glass Key.

The plot is of a complexity that would defy any brief...