Movie Time! 'Blood Simple'

"In a jealous rage, Texas tavern owner Julian Marty (Dan Hedaya) hires unscrupulous private detective Loren Visser (M. Emmett Walsh) to not only tail Marty's two-timing spouse, Abby (Frances McDormand, in her big-screen debut), but also murder her and her bar-keeping paramour (John Getz).  Events take a surprising turn, however, when the gumshoe double-crosses his client.  Joel Coen directs this stylish shocker co-written with brother Ethan Coen."

As I mentioned on Thursday, my Literature and Film class has been learning about Film Noir.  'Blood Simple' is a more modern Film Noir.  It was directed by the Coen brothers who are from Minnesota, the state that I live in.

This movie is rated R for persistent violence, sexually-oriented nudity, and adult activity.  Just keep this in mind if ratings are important in your decision to watch a movie.

The beginning, before the story even begins to unfold, was very neat.  The light patterns were very interesting because of the rain and the bright flashes of the car headlights that flashed by.  It was cinematic excellence!

The movie was generally quiet.  There were a lot of suspenseful pauses as one character would creep around a corner (unknowingly) towards another character.  When the normal sounds joined the quiet and the sound of boots on the floor, it was enough to cause a number of people in my Lit and Film class to jump out of our seats!

The silence also made the film quite eerie and, for me, a little hard to watch because they were a bit long for my attention span.

The murders and double-crossing made the move very interesting (it wouldn't be a true Noir without the murders).  I'm just in love with Noir because of the crime and because of the lack of light.

The beginning of the movie (other than the very beginning when Abby and Ray (John Getz) were in the car together) wasn't terribly interesting, though the information was very important. When the characters started dying, everything became more tense, suspenseful, and interesting.

Obviously, this isn't a family film, but if you're looking for a good suspenseful thriller and you don't mind a bit of sexuality, this movie is for you!

Thanks for reading!

--Jude