Review of Blood Simple (1985) by Ajai K — 07 Aug 2014

Karma is a bitch, well this movie proves that it is surely is persistent and unbiased. The Coen debutes with a neo-noir full of intense and sinister moments juxtaposed with dark humor. Visually arresting and morally ambivalent, this film plays with the audience like any effective Hitchcock movie and it evokes the brooding tingles up your spine.

The actions that characters take leads to their demise, in the movie they have choices to make and once they are made it seems they are eventually thrust into a path where they cannot return into a state of normalcy. Each characters lives with their decision or perish for it.

The characters are never innocent inherently, among the ones in focus only Frances character seems to be innocent relatively, but it is her decision that sets off the chain reaction of events that follow suit. The Coen's never make their character likable but forces us to cheer for one for the other by creating potentially deadly situations.

Visually evoking a time period of the 40's, and characters whoa re cynical and hell bent on getting what they, this is a genuine noir. The pictures are composed of dominant colours-- blue and red and others-- are given extra emphasis and painted across the screen melding itself with the inanimate objects,light, smoke and fog.

It's suspenseful and brooding, but there is no sympathy on screen. There exists pity and despair for the ones dying and terror for the ones next to be killed. The killer is there but he is everyone and he has no soul, only a dark sense of fatalistic humor and a thirst for blood and balance.