Mr-Fusion
Titled with black irony, "A Simple Plan" plays out fairly directly. A few guys happen upon a downed plane and its millions and decide not to turn it in. And for a lot of its running time, I was left shaking my head at their decisions. It was never going to work. But the slow burn ignited with a series of incredibly effective twists and turns. The screws kept turning, mistrust lurking behind every corner and it really became a wicked guessing game.The real surprise is that the shock ending comes not with a gunshot, but with a few words. A profoundly bleak finish.7/10
sharky_55
The setting of rural snow-locked Minnesota is established early. Foxes and chickens of the land flash across the screen, much like the ill omen of the raven does later on when these simple lives come across a stash of 4.4 million. Hank and his dimwitted brother Jacob and friend Lou set off into the snow to hunt for this fox. It is a shame that there is not a greater sense of community instilled into the setting as a small rural town would have, because we then have to rely on the performance of Paxton and the words of his wife when she says that he is a good man, and no one would ever believe him to be a murderer. The actors do a great deal of the lifting. There is natural conflict between their demeanours, and that is escalated when they come across the crash site. We are led to believe that Hank is a man of good moral standing and virtue. Not many would say no to millions, but he initially does, and has to be coaxed. His wife also does, giggling at what is a clearly impossible occurrence and adamantly stating that it would be stealing and the wrong thing to do. Their life is fine, and comfortable. Later on, her teary eyed monologue demolishes that notion, but the great strength of these characters is that we are able to sympathise and understand both scenarios and their merits, and how money has twisted their expectations. Fonda's performance is fantastic; almost as soon as she sets sight on the pile of cash, the gears begin to turn in her head and she descends into a path of action that will leave her family for the better. Hank lets the air out of a tire with a cheeky smile, and the brothers chuckle at their little deception, not even considering what they will be capable of later. The other great performance belongs to Billy Bob Thornton, whom is initially regarded as dumb and incompetent by both audience and older brother. He blurts out guilty clues and in panic whacks a man in the head, but unlike Hank, these acts aren't cold and calculated, but acts of desperation and motivation to protect his brother (who by all accounts shares no sincere feelings of affection, but only a last name). In one confrontation, there are two levels of pretense happening, the drunken ramblings of Lou, and the battle between the two brothers as they argue over the morality of framing him for the murder, and it becomes a tense see-sawing of his affiliation. Hank tries to appeal by bringing up their deceased father, and Jacob brusquely and rightfully shuts him down. In a later moment, he soberly reminisces on a a prank played on him by his high school 'girlfriend' (and again we see how out of touch Hank is with his brother) and Jacob makes it heartbreaking because of how easy he seems to take it, and how there are no hard feelings. Thornton is much like his dog; loyal, and sometimes dumb, but it is via the good of his heart. And we see in this monologue just how little he lives for, and that gives us a little solace when his end comes. The Coens gave tips to Raimi on how to film in the snow, based on their experiences with Fargo. They are similar in many ways; both are about the greed and desire for monetary wealth, and how it warps people into doing despicable things. It is not as perfect as Fargo; in the latter the snowy setting is a character in itself, tripping and hindering and being admired all at the same time. The closest A Simple Plan gets would be the shot of the four diverging footprint paths in the snow, which signalled ominous danger up ahead. When has splitting up ever been a good idea? And I think in the tensest scene in the office, where a pleading Fonda on the phone offers no comfort as Hank is trapped in between two unsuspecting people, with guns. The best thing this film does is shepherded us alongside these characters, because no one can resist the allure of so much money. We yell and become frustrated when Jacob gives away the sighting of the plane, and shake our heads as the murders pile up, but still hope that the money remains unscathed, even as the family is corrupted. There is a real life parallel to this, in the alarming occurrence of lottery winners being bankrupt a few years on. How peaceful would their lives have been if that plane had never been uncovered? The damning of Hank and Sarah is so great that I do not think the script needs to further deal a cruel blow to them, by revealing that the bills were indeed marked (in addition to the logical explanation of this being so ridiculously and logistically impossible - how the hell does writing down thousands of serial numbers enable you to track bills). They have been punished enough, and dealt a harsh lesson.
SnoopyStyle
Hank (Bill Paxton) is a hard worker with loving pregnant wife Sarah (Bridget Fonda) in a small Minnesota town. Hank goes on a drive with his brother Jacob (Billy Bob Thornton) and Jacob's friend Lou (Brent Briscoe). After crashing their car, they go off into the woods and find a crashed small plane. In it, they find a bag full of money. Hank wants to go to the police but he is convinced by the other two to keep the money. Hank comes up with a simple plan. He hides the money until the plane is discovered. If nobody comes looking for it, they will split up the $4.4 million among the three of them.Like the title suggests, this is a relatively simple movie. Of course, Hank's plan is never going to work especially with those two idiot loudmouth friends. Anyways, Hank breaks his promise not to tell his wife almost immediately. The tension builds and builds as these bumbling idiots get into a worst and worst situation. The snowy landscape gives the movie its desolate doomed atmosphere. Billy Bob does a great idiot but Bill Paxton's needy morality is the kicker. He starts out as a reasonable everyday man with morals. Director Sam Raimi fills every scene with a threatening tension.
billcotter
Heres a movie with an excellent cast ,film direction,and story line with first rate photography adding to the cold,forbidding atmosphere.Mans greed and selfishness is pitted against the basic need to do the honourable ,moral thing. It is a lesson on how normal,everyday people once embarking on the slippery slope of dishonesty suddenly find themselves losing control of the situation and their actions to remedy that situation merely pushes them closer to the abyss.Two brothers and a friend find a crashed light plane ,the pilot dead,his eyes being picked out of his head by hungry aggressive crows.They retrieve an extremely large carry bag containing hundreds of bundles of $100 dollar bills,amounting to over four million dollars.The big question is do you keep it or do you hand it in to the proper authorities? They make their choice and immediately are sucked down into a vortex of trouble and woe. Recommend this movie!
