Blood Simple. [1984]

If you like Coen brothers movies, maybe it is time to check out this flick, their directorial debut. Also the first major film of cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld, who later became a noted director (Men in Black, Wild Wild West). You might notice some similarities with this movie and The Man Who Wasn’t There, a later Coen flick. Of course, as in almost every Coen movie, Frances McDormand is starring with the help of some very talented actors. Two of them have achieved cult status: Dan Hedaya and M. Emmet Walsh. Both of them starred in phenomenal masterpieces and Blood Simple. is just another dot on their trail of cult movies. It seems that some actors are inexplicably connected to really good movies. Let me just give you few from: Midnight Cowboy, Serpico, Blade Runner, Fletch, Critters, Raising Arizona, Commando, The Addams Family, The Usual Suspects…

After Julian Marty finds out that his wife is cheating on him with his employee, he decides to kill her. Eventually unable to perform the task himself, he hires a private investigator, to do the dirty deed. But when you have combination of murder and large sums of money, something is bound to go wrong for someone… I just loved the overstated tension and those uncomfortable scenes that seemed so fucked up. Again we have, pretty much, ordinary people caught in some strange situations and the director made sure that we feel connected to the characters on the screen. I know that the movie is a bit older, but still it reeks of quality and after all, it is not some science fiction flick were the effects look ridiculous after a few decades. Enjoy.

Director: Joel Coen

Cast: John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya, M. Emmet Walsh, Samm-Art Williams

Fun Stuff: Holly Hunter had auditioned for the role of Abby, but turned it down because she was performing a play in New York at the same time. So she encouraged her roommate Frances McDormand to go and audition for the role.

Rating:

IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086979/