This is a key question in a Coen movie. Yeah' and, given that he is at heart a simple man, he's probably telling the truth. Nothing is that clear-cut for Tom. Tom is a solitary and tough man who, through his travels, meets dark and eccentric characters. He hides behind irony, the wise cracks and the violence, but inside he is a lonely and bitter hero known for his heavy drinking, his hopeless gambling and a passion for fashion.
Crossing is very much a sitting-down film.
Its innumerable conversations are carried out in large, opulent offices, warehouses, apartments or speakeasies - all huge, empty locations which emphasise the space between the characters. Pretty much the only time these men stand up, it is to knock somebody else down. Although that only slowly and incrementally happens in the pejorative sense, this wouldn't be a Coen film without a little literal Hell. Leo's bodyguard lays prone across his newspaper, his cigarette burning a hole in the page. Upstairs, a wind-up gramophone scratches out the emotive strains of 'Danny Boy' as Leo, wrapped in silk pyjamas and a robe, relaxes alone in bed and enjoys a cigar.