Blood Simple

Year: 1984

Grade: A-

Country: USA

Director: Coen

Review

a pretty damned good first film. it’s no citizen kane, but then again the coen brothers have gone on to do better things than welles did after citizen kane. i think the shot from pulp fiction of john travolta falling into bed after shooting up was lifted from a similar shot in this movie. when watching this film there’s no doubt that whoever is behind it knows their shit. joel and ethan coen not only spin quite a yarn, they do it with a unique and powerful voice. one aspect of the film was particularily intriguing – the ceiling fans. i think there are three different ceiling fans in the film – one in each of the main actors’ primary locations. i don’t honestly remember. but what the coen brothers did with them was pretty interesting and that aspect alone is probably worth watching the film again. they changed the rotational speed on the fans according to the intensity of the scene or segment of the movie. they brought the sound of the fans into the foreground quite a bit. and at one point a fan that was rotating counter-clockwise through the entire film, changed directions. after that moment visser’s character took on a more sinister and proactive role – i doubt it was a mistake. the camerawork was really good. it was shot almost like a horror film – the active camera, the edits they used, the extreme low and high angles – all keeping things fresh and surprising. i can’t remember a coen brothers film in which the camera is as active as it is in this movie. lots of good stuff here. almost a clinic on fimmaking.