AFS Cinema devotes a week to the Coen Brothers’ first three films for a petite sampler of their range: a wackadoo comedy, period gangster film, and sweaty neo-noir filmed right here in Austin. 1990’s Miller’s Crossing has the Irish and Italian mobs at each other’s throats in a midcentury turf war, further complicated by the failed efforts of Gabriel Byrne’s ice-in-his-veins fixer to resist the temptations of mob boss Albert Finney’s fast-talking best girl (Marcia Gay Harden). If that plot synopsis got you muddled, wait until the rat-a-tat dialogue starts ripping; Miller’s Crossing – a personal fave – will have you spinning. – Kimberley Jones
