This sublime Prohibition-era gangster saga from the Coen brothers is a magnificent display of compelling acting, spellbinding storytelling and fine film-making. A dark-hued, richly operatic mood piece, with machine-gun-fire dialogue and twisted meaty substance to spare, it focuses on the friendship between politician Albert Finney and the power behind his throne Gabriel Byrne, and the bloody Mob war that erupts when they fall in love with the same woman, Marcia Gay Harden (a role Bette Davis would have killed for). The title refers to a lonely, leafy glade where somebody's murder will take place. Byrne is simply outstanding as the cool, calculating catalyst around whom the whole vivid spectacle revolves.

Set in 1929, a political boss and his advisor have a parting of the ways when they both fall for the same woman.