Review of Blood Simple (1985) by Gg J — 02 Mar 2009

[font='Times New Roman'][b]Blood Simple[/b][/font].

[font='Times New Roman']I recently read an interview where director Danny Boyle (?Slumdog Millionaire?) discusses the Coen Brothers, Joel and Ethan. ?Blood Simple,? he says, is their first and best film. It?s hard to disagree with that. (Well, see below.) Set in [/font][font='Times New Roman']Texas[/font][font='Times New Roman'], this pitch-black film noir follows the twisting rotten relationship between two lovers (Frances McDormand and John Getz), an unbalanced husband (Dan Hedaya) and a cackling, double-crossing psychopathic P.I. (M. Emmet Walsh). With gallons of bloods and one person who won?t stay dead, this crackles with intense suspense and a sickeningly funny, hair-raising climax. The game is raised by Barry Sonnenfeld?s wandering, roving camera and Walsh?s evil yellow-suited cowboy. He?s still the Coens? most devious creation; his laugh is unforgettable. The film, too.[/font].

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[font='Times New Roman'][b]Miller's Crossing[/b][/font].

[font='Times New Roman']Still on a Coen Brothers kick, I also watched ?Miller?s Crossing.? It?s also another classic from Joel and Ethan, this one mixing in ?The Godfather?? with ?Yojimbo? and a dozen other double-cross films involving mobsters, dames, bookies and hoods in the woods. Gabriel Byrne has never been better as Tom, a mafia lieutenant who breaks with his boss (Albert Finney) to join the other side (led by John Polito) while juggling a tramp girlfriend (Marcia Gay Harden) and her gay sleazebag bookie brother (John Turturro). Smart, brilliant, and a knowing tribute/smack down to all crime films, every shot is a work of art and every character fascinating. There?s whip smart and funny dialogue, too. Midway through the film the Coens give us a scene that they have yet to top: Byrne, pistol in hand, stalking Turturro into a forest. Hell, the whole film may be their best.[/font].

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[font='Times New Roman'][b]Changeling[/b][/font].

[font='Times New Roman']An opening title card of ?Changeling? proudly proclaims this is ?A true story.? So, it?s ironic that I didn?t believe a second of it. The true story: Single working mom Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie) comes home late from work one day in 1928 and cannot find her young son, Walter. He?s gone. She?s distraught. Months later, the police find [i]a[/i] boy, but it ain?tWalter. He?s three inches shorter, circumcised, has different teeth and has no memory of his teachers or friends. Christine flips big. Big Brother Cop says, ?Shut up!? Christine refuses and is tossed into a medieval insane asylum. Then a child serial killer is discovered. Wow, huh? Well, ?Changeling? is a soggy mess. No real people appear on screen. We?re given a long line of one-note simpleton characters that spew trite, silly dialogue more suited to a 1930s radio drama. Jolie?s acting ? ?I want my son back!? -- quickly turns unintentionally funny. Sloppy editing, a dozen drawn-out climaxes and an utter lack of any purpose further skunk the film, which does its best to look like a classic. It?s not. (Those trolleys sure are cool, though.) The stunner: Clint Eastwood, normally brilliant, directed.[/font].

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[font='Times New Roman'][b]Lakeview Terrace[/b][/font].

[font='Times New Roman']Directed by Neil LaBute, ?Lakeview Terrace? gives a twist to the Neighbor From Hell Thriller plotline: The couple is interracial (Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington) and the brooding psychopath next door is a racist black (Samuel L. Jackson) ... who happens to be an [/font][font='Times New Roman']L.A.[/font][font='Times New Roman'] cop. The film is at its best in showing verbal tit-for-tats, especially between Wilson and Jackson, and then the couple themselves as cracks form in the marriage. The film weakens as [/font][font='Times New Roman']Jackson[/font][font='Times New Roman']?s hell-bent righteous cop slogs through several on-the-job clichés (the crying thug is laughably bad), and all-out stumbles as a massive forest fire destroys the neighborhood during the gun-popping climax. Not remotely subtle.[/font].