"Miller's Crossing" A story of unrequited love hidden behind the film noir

“Chasing hats is stupid.” What is the feeling behind that line?

There is a scene in the middle of the movie where Tom tells Verna about a dream he had.

Tom: "I had a dream before.... I was walking through a forest somewhere and suddenly the wind blew my hat off."

Verna: "You chase after it, right? You chase after it and finally catch up. When you pick it up, the hat has been transformed into something wonderful."

Tom: "No, nothing has changed. I didn't chase him. Chasing a hat is stupid."

Verna thinks for sure that the "hat" refers to her and acts as if she is shocked by Tom's words, but of course the "hat" is not her. It is Leo. How wonderful it would be if a friendship between two men could turn into "love" with a gust of wind. But Tom cannot convey those feelings. There is no way he can. So nothing changes. ...A sad resignation is entrusted to that symbolic dream scene.

Miller's Crossing(c) Photofest / Getty Images

Come to think of it, Tom is portrayed in this movie as a man who treasures his hats. After his fedora is stolen in a bet, Tom goes out of his way to visit Verna's room to get it back. To him, the hat is probably a symbol of his friendship with Leo (this is purely my speculation, but it could be that the hat was a precious keepsake given to Tom by Leo).

Come to think of it, in the classic gangster film " Borsalino " (1970) starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon, the hunting caps and soft hats of the hat manufacturer "Borsalino," the name of which is given to the film, were used symbolically as a motif of male friendship. It is fair to say that the hats in "Miller's Crossing" also appear as a similar motif.

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