Blood Simple

Released 1984
Stars John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya, M. Emmet Walsh
Directed by Joel Coen
 
The genius of "Blood Simple" is that everything that happens seems necessary. The movie's a blood-soaked nightmare in which greed and lust trap the characters in escalating horror. The plot twists in upon itself. Characters are found in situations of diabolical complexity. And yet it doesn't feel like the film is just piling it on. Step by inexorable step, logically, one damned thing leads to another.

This was the first film directed by Joel Coen, produced by his brother Ethan and co-written by the two. Their joint credits have since become famous, with titles such as "Miller's Crossing," "Raising Arizona," "Barton Fink" and the incomparable "Fargo." Sometimes they succeed and sometimes they fail, but they always swing for the fences, and they are masters of plot. As I wrote in my original 1985 review of "Blood Simple": "Every individual detail seems to make sense, and every individual choice seems logical, but the choices and details form a bewildering labyrinth." They build crazy walls with sensible bricks.

Summary by Roger Ebert

"Blood Simple" is an outstanding thriller. Everyone wants to lump it into the noir genre, but it doesn't quite fit. It contains noir elements, but, like all films from the Coen brothers, it doesn't fit nicely into its category. Noir requires a femme fatale who seduces a basically good man into killing for her. We don't have a femme fatale here, and she doesn't coerce the good man into killing. All of this is shrouded in doubt and mystery, though, which keeps us wondering what everyone's motives are and who's actually doing what. The great thing is nothing seems forced. It all flows logically and naturally, and our good man finds himself digging a deeper and deeper hole, wondering how he got into this situation and how to proceed. It's an amazing debut film.

I watched the 15th anniversary "director's cut" of "Blood Simple" on DVD, and it was the first time I've seen the movie. This DVD is really something, because it gives you two movies in one. First, there's "Blood Simple" the drama/thriller. Second, there's "Blood Simple" the comedy. How'd they do that? They added a commentary track from some character called Kenneth Loring that's hilarious. Obviously, this commentary was written by the Coens, and it's a farce about animatronic dogs, CGI flies, and upside-down actors. It's a scream. The only downside was I watched them back to back. Since it was the first time I saw "Blood Simple," it's hard for me to think of it without the commentary. I probably should have been more familiar with the movie before I listened to the commentary. I don't think I'll ever be able to watch this dark, grim tale again without laughing. --Bill Alward, November 9, 2001