Review of A Simple Plan (1998) by Tim M — 18 Jan 2010

Humanly terrifying, the pre-Spiderman Sam Raimi delivers a taut, Hitchcockian, emotion-filled drama/thriller that borders on unbelievability at points, but only to show the nature of the lengths human beings will go to.

The whole cast is terrific, but it is Billy Bob Thornton who makes a standard-type character stand out and shows him to be more than just a one-note static character within the story (I wish he could come back to this kind of acting).

Scott Smith adapts his novel with terrific pacing and sharp dialogue and adds in a nice touch with the recurring visual theme of crows, which Jacob ominously refers to in one line: "[The crows] are always waiting for something to die so they can eat it.

What a weird job." This line becomes more and more strangely applicable as we watch this story of greed unfold.