Social Networking, Miller's Crossing, and Running Things

“Runnin' things.  It ain't all gravy.”

One of my very favorite movies is Miller’s Crossing, the Coen Brothers’ ode to gangster films. Witty dialogue and unexpected plot twists make this relatively obscure movie a must see. I have been thinking quite a bit about this movie as I finish the first draft of my second book.

I’m specifically thinking of Jon Polito’s character, Italian gangster Johnny Caspar. Caspar has ascended to the informal head of organized crime in an unnamed city, possibly Boston, in the 1920s. Faced with increasing problems in this new role, he quips to Tom Reagan (Gabriel Byrne), “Runnin' things. It ain't all gravy.”