9 Incredible Action Sequences From Non-Action Movies

The “Danny Boy” Shootout – Miller’s Crossing

The Coen Brothers are better at filling their noirish dramas with rat-a-tat dialogue than machine gun fire. However, they are masterful at shocking audiences with violent turns – think of a fantasy sequence from A Serious Man or a twist in the middle of Barton Fink. In the middle of their dialogue-savvy crime drama Miller’s Crossing, they insert a sequence that is completely over-the-top, yet has an energy that meets the rhythm of the film’s fast dialogue and tough personalities.

As “Danny Boy” plays from a gramophone, two gangsters silently approach the top floor of Leo’s (Albert Finney) mansion and light a fire from below. Just as the fire starts to sizzle, the sequence ratchets up. The classical musical and classy escape of Finney’s character can be contrasted with the lunatic gunshot count. Almost none of Leo’s opponents hit their desired target, making the sequence look more like a cartoon than the bleak, character-driven drama we have come to expect. The zany sequence is delivered with a panache and comic skill that few directors could get away with.

For a film with such dapper period designs and such strength in the writing word, the sequence comes as something of a surprise. The way the scene builds, the way the camera follows up the gangsters walking in tandem, the wry way that Leo puts on his slippers and stubs out his cigarette… it is a thing of storytelling beauty that pays homage to the explosive gangster movies of the 1930s.

Leo barely even freaks out at the burning’s house but concentrates clearly on his targets. Finney controls every moment with a swagger. The end pose of him standing with pride, munching on a cigarette as his rifle smokes as well, is a thing of, again, pure beauty.