Thursday, July 05, 2012

Blood Simple (1984) - Neo-Noir Crime

If that’s what you get as a Debut Movie – you exactly know what you are going to get in future. As I got a Director’s Cut Digitally Enhanced DVD of this one - that too with a short Introduction from a film historian Mortimer Young, I need to confess – I didn’t know who that guy was, till I get hooked to the movie big time, almost loved everything including the background score, sweet simple cast, amazing cinematography, a damn good real time Texas of 80’s feel, fantastic thrilling moments and superb action. As the movie ended and I see the end credits – I almost kicked myself to read it was “Coen Brothers” behind this fantastic movie and this was their debut and they had finally arrived. Unfortunately, this was the only movie from them that I didn’t see yet and as I read – it was their first one. Right before this movie was made, one of them was working as a clerk – that’s some trivia. If you like thrillers – this will definitely show up in your top 10 favorites. One hell of a movie, regret seeing it so late but glad that I finally saw it.
The Movie: Starts off on a very simple note with a couple driving down on a rainy night and you realize with their discussion that the girl Abby (Frances Mcdormand) has left her husband Marty (Dan Hedaya) to be with Ray (John Getzz). Unfortunately Ray works for Marty in his bar somewhere in Houston, Texas. They realize that they are being followed by someone and that’s a private detective Loren (M Emmet Walsh) a damn good character. With those four characters introduced – you exactly know where this is going to go but how it goes – makes it one hell of a watch. One his doubts get cleared that his wife is actually sleeping with one of his own employees, Marty plots with Loren to kill them both and get over with it. But Loren has some other plans in mind, how he plays with their situation and plans to kill em all and make way with their money is typical Coen Brothers thrilling drama. What I loved about this one was its background score and the way they had handled the suspense. It goes damn slow yet you can’t take your eyes off the screen and get hooked to it big time to see what comes next. It’s highly unpredictable at times and sometimes you can actually predict the next scene too. There are so many moments that the Directors want the audience to be intelligent and notice the things that you actually smile on your smartness to notice the same as the characters come back to clear their mistakes. That’s a fantastic way for them to get the audiences involved.
Characters are all lovable, have seen Frances in so many movies off late – it’s too good to see her so young and beautiful. Dan Hedaya must have played the negative character in like good 200+ movies, if not more, he is such a familiar face. One fantastic thing about this one is its apt background score, the noise of fan’s blades moving slowly, heavy foot steps behind the wall, a couple of songs played in the juke box, hustle bustle at the bar, at times almost no background score and eerie silence too plays damn well with the mood of the movie. If you like thrillers with damn good suspense and unexpected endings – you are going to love this. I have almost seen all of their movies – somehow this one I skipped – now since I am done with this one – I plan to give their other works a re-view. Go ahead pick up The Director’s Cut DVD and enjoy the thrill.

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