Review of A Simple Plan (1998) by Marcus W — 22 Apr 2011

I just have to point out right away that the scene of Billy Bob Thorton's character, Jacob, in the car and confessing that the only girl that he ever dated was dared to date him for a month, and he was OK with it because it was some form of human connection. Jacob is the best character to follow in A Simple Plan. He is the older brother of Hank: a man who has a college education and thinks of himself as one of the better people in their small town. When chasing a dog out into the woods, Hank, Jacob, and Lou stumble across a plane that is holding $4.4 million. The plan is simple: Hank will hold the money at his house until spring and someone finds the plane and see if there is any talk about money, and if no one says anything about the money they will split it. Hank is usually a good guy who wouldn't dream about taking the money, but he has a pregnant wife right now and he wants the best for his family. Jacob and Lou need the money because they are poor and don't have much going for them. Of course, things don't pan out as simply as they planned. Damn you, Bridget Fonda and your stupid idea to put $500,000 back in the plane. Now they have killed a man, and they just keep getting deeper and deeper. Thorton's performance in this is breathtaking. As the lies get heavier he becomes physically and mentally worse. All he wants is his parent's farm and a family. He figures if he gets the money he can pay for a woman to love him.

**SPOILERS**.

After everything happens, Hank and Jacob are standing besides the plane with two dead men: a cop who never thought them to be guilty and the man who originally stole the money. Jacob can't take it anymore. He can't believe that he killed his friend Lou, whom he was almost closer to than his brother, and he just can't live knowing everything that has happened. No more lies. So he asks Hank to shoot him. Hank loves his brother and can't do it, which by the end of the film we realize how invested we are in the characters and how real each of them are. We don't want to see Jacob die. When he says he will shoot himself if Hank doesn't I was trying to find plenty of ways for him not to do it. However, he does it and it's absolutely heartbreaking. The voiceovers weren't necessary for the film, definitely considering they had Bill Paxton and his monotoned voice do it. They could have ended with him burning the money and a fadeout on the cash. However, this is a strong film by Raimi and felt more like a Coen film than something he would have done. Definitely worth a watch.