Blood SimpleHow often have you seen a film where there's a death, and another party tries to cover it up, and somehow manages to screw it up in some capacity? And you might think to yourself how you would have done it differently, how you would have been able to get away with it, and so on. More than just a narrative element, these errors in judgment on the part of the character attempting to conceal the event have more in common with human nature than an oversight. Blood Simple draws its title from a phrase attributed to Dashiell Hammett, describing how people make foolish mistakes when confronted with the presence of violence.
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Blood Simple was the first feature film of the "Coen Brothers"--that is, "director" Joel Coen and "producer" Ethan Coen (although they are both regarded as equal contributors), who spin this neo-noir yarn into a tight and taut tapestry. For those already familiar with the latter works of the Coens, you can generally mark their films onto one of two ends of a spectrum: the jovial and colorful comedy filled with uproarious laughter, and the intense, deeply human and hauntingly natural thriller, filled with suspense and violence; Blood Simple is at the far-end of the latter. (I would place Fargo in the center of this universe, around which everything else orbits.) The story is recognizable, and has echoes of classic film noir masterpieces, such as Out of the Past or Double Indemnity, even teasing the audiences expectations for those acquainted with those films. It is set in some outskirts of suburban Texas, where the colloquial language and accents of characters firmly entrench the film in its location, also establishing the Coens trend of rendering their magnifying lens upon these locales, as if we are entreated to a secret view of this corner of our country, where the shadows loom and drench these vast, dust-squelched vistas. This is also a "working-class" thriller, where there are no well-off characters, and the idea of killing someone for ten thousand dollars seems like a large enough amount to justify this fatal act. Another element of the Coens' films that emerges--one which has become more commonplace in thrillers from Scorsese to Tarantino--is the periodic presence of recognizable (and less recognizable) jukebox classics, sometimes used in an anachronistic fashion, including "It's the Same Old Song" by The Four Tops. Opposite this, the musical score is also charged with malevolence, a dark and brooding pulse of synth and rattling percussion, branding a sense of dread over the violence to come. The score is composed by Carter Burwell, who has scored many films for the Coens, and whose work in Blood Simple evokes the style of fellow composer, Howard Shore, who worked extensively with David Cronenberg. I bring this up because Blood Simple is reminiscent of the horror films by Cronenberg to an extent, as well as Sam Raimi--unsurprisingly here, as Joel Coen was an assistant editor on Raimi's Evil Dead.
Blood Simple begins with a cynical meditation on human nature by a voice belonging to a private investigator named Loren Visser (M. Emmet Walsh), who is hired by a jealous owner of a bar, Julian Marty (Dan Hedaya)--called simply "Marty", even by his wife, Abby (Frances McDormand)--to keep tabs on his lady. As chance would have it, following what must be one of many fights, Abby is picked up by one of Marty's employees, Ray (John Getz), and they begin an affair. It is curious that even at the start of Abby's extramarital activity, Loren is already prepared with his camera, and documents the event, for which Marty begrudgingly compensates him and prepares to make evident his wrath upon Abby and Ray. Loren himself resembles a kind of grim interpretation of "Texas", a man who appears larger than life in his cowboy hat and his dusty marigold suit, deflecting offenses Marty barks at him as a grizzly bear might ignore a tick on its back. On the surface, he might appear warm--even charming--but reveals himself as an imposing force of violence, sinister, and capable of calculating deception and destruction. As the violence escalates, Marty hires Loren to kill Abby and Ray; Loren--ever the opportunist--believes he has a way to further capitalize on the situation, but ends up leaving evidence of his involvement behind, prompting a harrowing climax of bloodshed and desperation. Ray suspects Abby is more deeply involved in the violence, and their budding relationship is stained with distrust and suspicion, more so following a statement by Marty to Ray about his perception of Abby's dishonesty. Ray finds himself forced to clean up after a death, but does so with almost absolute incompetence. It is possible that Ray isn't a very bright guy, sure, but as said before, it's more likely that Ray is an average "Joe" like us, who simply isn't prepared to deal with trying to remove bloodstains, bury a body, or dispose of a gun without leaving a trail of evidence behind. The trailer to Blood Simple includes a comment by Alfred Hitchcock about how exceedingly difficult it is to kill someone, a thought which lingers in the mind as the events of this film unfold. Blood Simple is also a reminder that even in the smallest corners of America, terrible events can unfold following the introduction of violence, and are not always executed with calculated mental acuity, because as the saying goes, "to err is human".
Recommended for: Fans of an intense thriller, filled with suspense and double-crosses, building to a terrifying conclusion. It is the clarion call for the Coens' exciting body of work to follow, and officially qualifies as a movie that made me think, "how is it that I have never seen this before?!"
Blood Simple begins with a cynical meditation on human nature by a voice belonging to a private investigator named Loren Visser (M. Emmet Walsh), who is hired by a jealous owner of a bar, Julian Marty (Dan Hedaya)--called simply "Marty", even by his wife, Abby (Frances McDormand)--to keep tabs on his lady. As chance would have it, following what must be one of many fights, Abby is picked up by one of Marty's employees, Ray (John Getz), and they begin an affair. It is curious that even at the start of Abby's extramarital activity, Loren is already prepared with his camera, and documents the event, for which Marty begrudgingly compensates him and prepares to make evident his wrath upon Abby and Ray. Loren himself resembles a kind of grim interpretation of "Texas", a man who appears larger than life in his cowboy hat and his dusty marigold suit, deflecting offenses Marty barks at him as a grizzly bear might ignore a tick on its back. On the surface, he might appear warm--even charming--but reveals himself as an imposing force of violence, sinister, and capable of calculating deception and destruction. As the violence escalates, Marty hires Loren to kill Abby and Ray; Loren--ever the opportunist--believes he has a way to further capitalize on the situation, but ends up leaving evidence of his involvement behind, prompting a harrowing climax of bloodshed and desperation. Ray suspects Abby is more deeply involved in the violence, and their budding relationship is stained with distrust and suspicion, more so following a statement by Marty to Ray about his perception of Abby's dishonesty. Ray finds himself forced to clean up after a death, but does so with almost absolute incompetence. It is possible that Ray isn't a very bright guy, sure, but as said before, it's more likely that Ray is an average "Joe" like us, who simply isn't prepared to deal with trying to remove bloodstains, bury a body, or dispose of a gun without leaving a trail of evidence behind. The trailer to Blood Simple includes a comment by Alfred Hitchcock about how exceedingly difficult it is to kill someone, a thought which lingers in the mind as the events of this film unfold. Blood Simple is also a reminder that even in the smallest corners of America, terrible events can unfold following the introduction of violence, and are not always executed with calculated mental acuity, because as the saying goes, "to err is human".
Recommended for: Fans of an intense thriller, filled with suspense and double-crosses, building to a terrifying conclusion. It is the clarion call for the Coens' exciting body of work to follow, and officially qualifies as a movie that made me think, "how is it that I have never seen this before?!"