Review of Blood Simple (1985) by Lewis C — 09 Dec 2009

Blood Simple has many of the ingredients of the Coens later films, and they come together to make a movie that's both simple and satisfying. There are the memorable and thoroughly original characters, and the non-descript, but unmistakably American locales. There's the sudden violence, the complete mastery of tension and suspense, and the dark humor that comes completely out of the blue. There's the constant theme of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, coincidence and characters being caught up in events that they don't understand. If these are some of the things that attracteded you to No Country for Old Men or Fargo, then Blood Simple is basically a special present, just for you.

I was a bit underwhelmed until the middle of the story, but it eventually caught me as tightly as anything else the Coens have done. I have to highlight the suspense and tension once again, it really is remarkable how I was basically holding my breath several times during the movie. We're talking Hitchcockian levels of anxiety for the characters. Any fan of Joel and Ethan is in for a real treat, that I can promise.