BLOOD SIMPLE (1985) A Film Review by Ted Prigge Copyright 1998 Ted Prigge
Director: Joel Coen Writers: Joel and Ethan Coen Starring: Frances McDormand, John Getz, Dan Hedaya, M. Emmet Walsh, Samm-Art Williams
"Blood Simple" is a bit like a horror film interlaced with a film noir backdrop: the film is filled with a bunch of frightening nightmares (like being forced to kill someone, an overabundance of blood, being buried alive, etc.), but the story is an ever-twisting bit of complex film noir. It's also the film debut of the now-famous Coen Brothers, Joel and Ethan, and watching it today, one could easily deduct that the Coen Brothers had not yet found their style, and therefore the film is kind of lacking or something or other. But when viewed as a real film, it's really an amazing piece of storytelling, and one hell of a fun one at that.
The plot of "Blood Simple" is so complex and labyrinthine that to tell everything would be to spoil half the fun of the fun of viewing it, as it's a film that is always in motion, and is chock-full of suprises that are really surprising (how's that for a concept?). But the basic plot deals with a seedy bar owner, Marty (Dan Hedaya), who's wife Abby (a very young Frances McDormand) is found cheating with one of his bartenders, Ray (John Getz), so Marty decides after much angered thought that he'll hire a Private Investigator, Visser (M. Emmet Walsh), the same one who discovered them for him, to kill them.
Up to this point, it's standard film noir and nothing really spectacular, but then the film throws us for a loop, which I won't spoil, and the film from that point on becomes a tense, nightmarish experience, filled with twists upon twists upon twists, and ending with a final laugh, not on the audiences' part, but on one of the characters. What's most remarkable about this film is that it doesn't try to throw the audience off with cheap twists; instead it tells it to us as omnipotent viewers, knowing everything, and because of this we watch helplessly as the characters on screen stumble around without all the facts.
When one carefully thinks and comes to their own conclusion about this film (this film is anything but condescending and insulting), one realizes that no character is one hundred percent certain what's going on. The film is told so that the characters are often confused, and we follow each of them around as they try and figure everything out, and often do things that they wouldn't do if they knew everything. One character walks in to a place at the wrong time, and is forced to do a horrific act that will haunt him the rest of the film. And another character discovers that they have left incriminating evidence around but don't know where it is. And yet another character has no clue what's going on until the final couple seconds of the film. Even a couple characters live with the guilt of things they did not even do, but for some exaplainable reason think they did. The plot of "Blood Simple" is carefully constructed so that all this is assured with intelligence and even wit.
This being the film debut of the Coens, we can see that they hadn't really gotten their wacky, eccentric style down yet, which wouldn't erupt until their next film, the hysterically funny comedy "Raising Arizona." But no matter; this film would be ruined with any of that kind of style. It's not the kind of film that would be good if it was hysterical or wacky. But this film does have the kind of great direction it needs. It has lots of great shots that are very remarkable, including a misleading tracking shot which at first looks like a POV shot, then turns out to be just a low-angle smooth steadicam closing shot. And several sequences are intensely crafted, like a long bit where one character tries to dispose of a corpse (including a bit they would recycle in "Fargo"), and the finale, which is one of the most frightening sequences filmed, ending perfectly with a little cherry on top at the end.
The performances aren't really amazing or anything, save for M. Emmet Walsh's, who's predictably brilliant (when isn't he?) as the unscrupulous and wonderfully selfish crooked P.I. He easily steals the film. But Dan Hedaya's also very good, even though it doesn't seem like he's good at first (he's usually hysterically tense), but upon closer examination, he's great as a man who has held all his rage up inside, and can't control himself when he boils over in fits of rage. Also good is Frances McDormand, who mostly plays the frightened woman. It's no Margie Gunderson, but what are ya gonna do? The only not too great performance is from John Getz, who is remarkably down-playing his part. Getz's forte is playing pompous asswholes (in such anti-classics as "Men at Work" and "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead" - yes, I've seen them); here he seems just a bit weak.
It's often been said "Blood Simple" is the best Coen Brothers film, or at least a contender for best with "Fargo." I personally think "Fargo" is a better film, much more better realized and executed. But "Blood Simple" is still one of their best films, a masterfully crafted and executed thriller film noir that surprises us with lots of twists, and some truly awe-inspiring sequences which scare the hell out of us merely because we the audience know to much and are not sure how to react to seeing a character do something we know they shouldn't do but they don't. It would be easy to take "Blood Simple" for granted, calling it merely "a great thriller." It's not just that. It's a film that is so carefully constructed and so modest about it that it amazes you when you finally realize it.
MY RATING (out of 4): ****
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