Blood Simple (1984)

Directors: Joel & Ethan Coen

Writers: Joel & Ethan Coen

Composer: Carter Burwell

Starring: John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya, M. Emmet Walsh

More Info: IMDB

Tagline: Breaking up is hard

Plot: Marty hires a private investigator to spy on his wife, who he suspects of cheating. Marty hires a private investigator to kill his wife and her lover and, naturally, things don't go as planned. People die. Life is beautiful.

My Rating: 9/10

Would I watch it again? Chyeah!

Say, kids. Ya like your crime movies a little bit on the fucked-up side? Hows 'bout a lotta bit? That's Joel & Ethan Coen for ya. I love these guys. I've seen all of their films in the theater except for the hysterical RAISING ARIZONA. (That's one of Nicolas Cages few GOOD films, by the way.) There's one thing about the Coen brothers' films, especially their crime films, and that's that something ALWAYS goes wrong and when I mean wrong I mean REALLY wrong. An uncomfortable wrong. This is the film that started it for them.

It's fantastic. Hell, I just talked myself in giving it a 9 when I had previously given it an 8. As with all of their films the performances are some of the finest, if not THE finest, the actors will ever give. John Getz..great. Frances McDormand...great but really gets cookin' later on in FARGO...awesome. Dan Hedaya...fantastic. I've never seen him give anything this side of amazing. But the actor who blows away the lot is M. Emmet Walsh. I think this may be the closest this character actor ever came to a starring role but he certainly deserved more. If you're not familiar with his name you will definitely know his face. He's a beast in BS. Slimy to the core. His performance is so thick and rich you can almost smell him.



BS has got some very choice bits of dialogue. In the beginning of the film Visser (a P.I. played by Walsh) brings Marty (Hedaya) the news & photos on Marty's cheating wife. Marty hates Visser and everything he stands for and finds it difficult to even look upon him. Visser is a wise-cracking slimy snake who somewhat relishes in having to dispense of the unwanted news when we get this exchange:

Marty: In ancient greece they used to cut the head off of the messenger who brought bad news.
Visser: That don't make much sense.
Marty: No...but it made 'em feel better

The atmosphere is dank. From the saloon to the motel room to the empty apartment at the film's climax. The lighting, like in so many noir-esque pictures, is a character of its own. Just look at the blue thrown off onto Hedaya's face from the bug zapper. This guy is PISSED! It's almost as if it's the blue of a flame. He's boiling inside and he's ready to explode.



I've never been much of a fan of composer Carter Burwell but his scores for the Coen Bros. are outstanding. BS is very atmospheric to the point of creeping under your skin making you ever so uncomfortable...but in a way that you like. And you know you like it...GIGGIDY!

I'm not going into any plot details. If you like crime films you must see this. It's unique. It's gritty. It's darkly hilarious. Much like the way FARGO is. With their latest film, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN out it's nice to go back and revisit an old neo-noir that picks you up by the short & curlys and never lets go. Check it out. You'll be glad you did.