A SIMPLE PLAN ***˝ (out of four)
-a review by Bill Chambers
('Tis the season to visit FILM FREAK CENTRAL:
http://filmfreakcentral.net Or my name isn't Santa Claus)
starring Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, Bridget Fonda, Brent Briscoe
screenplay by Scott B. Smith, based on his novel
directed by Sam Raimi
Scott Smith's novel A Simple Plan was overrated, a humourless modern-day, snowbound gloss on "Macbeth" with an unsatisfying ending. How surprising it is, then, that Smith's own screenplay adaptation of the same material is a rich and emotional modern-day, snowbound gloss on "Macbeth". Raimi, creator of such frenetic cult films as Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, and Darkman, strapped himself in a strait-jacket to direct A Simple Plan, a leisurely-paced thriller that has much in common with friend Joel Coen's restrained Fargo.
It is a quiet winter in a small Midwestern town. Lou (Briscoe) and brothers Hank (Paxton) and Jacob (Thornton) Mitchell happen upon a crashed airplane during a hunting trip. The pilot is already a feast for the vultures, and a bag of money sits unclaimed on the floor beside him. The three men decide to take the money-$4.4 million-and keep their discovery a secret; they will split the money only after the spring thaw, once the plane is recovered by authorities and any inquiries about the money have been dismissed. The trouble is, Jacob and Lou are close to destitute and willing to break the pact, and Hank's own very pregnant and very greedy wife (Fonda) finds out about the loot, too.
Even if you've read the book, A Simple Plan offers many surprises. (The movie's climax is much stronger.) An obvious and tired maguffin, the old briefcase full of money routine, seems fresh and original here. That's because this time out, the people who after the dough are genuine sympathetic sadsacks-candidates for an episode of Springer. Danny Boyle's Shallow Grave featured a similar set-up (albeit within the cosy confines of a London flat), but his characters were morally bankrupt from the get-go-they mistreated each other out of pure, undiluted avarice. A Simple Plan's trio of thieves lead generally miserable lives; if they can get past their initial hunger for the cash, they might just have a chance at saving themselves from a life of disconsolation.
I give: the best reason to see A Simple Plan is the performance of Billy Bob "Sling Blade" Thornton as the anemic, tormented Jacob. For about the first third of the film, a goofy-looking Thornton functions as little more than a punchline, cinematic punctuation to get a laugh from the audience. Yet as the plot thickens, Thornton comes to life in one of the most memorable supporting performances in recent years; gradually, Thornton peels back the layers, and we get the sense that Jacob is the less-educated but clearly smarter of the siblings. Watch the sequence when Jacob begins to imitate Hank, mercilessly insulting him in the process; his motivation for doing so is eventually made clear, but Thornton never once ‘winks' at the audience. I haven't believed a character like this in a good long while.
Actually, Raimi yields terrific work from all his principals, and his directorial presence is felt, if not explicitly seen (with the exception of one gleefully gratuitous, totally shocking signature camera move). I mentioned earlier that it recalls Fargo, and I mean in spirit, not in tone. Both films are dark-hearted, and they share a love of the locale; Rami's film is (surprisingly) much less jokey and less satirical. (I loved Fargo, but it's more witty than moving.) A Simple Plan is a less-than-mainstream suspense movie that really pays off on its promises. Its bleakness is uninviting but worth the trek to the theatre.
-November, 1998
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