Section A · Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Tuesday, January 26, 1999
Review
New movie raises morality questions in Hitchcock style
By Brendan Walsh
Kansan movie critic
Think of A Simple Plan as The Treasure of the Sierra Madre set in wintry northern Minnesota. A well-respected member of a small town (Bill Paxton) stumbles across $4.4 million with his dim-witted brother (Billy Bob Thornton) and his brother's beer-swilling friend (Brent Briscoe). The trio decides to keep the money and stay silent about their discovery, but not surprisingly, things soon go bad.
Director Sam Raimi was obviously influenced by Alfred Hitchcock and honors the master of sus
pense by cleverly placing black birds in important scenes. The movie, however, is a tribute in itself. It does the best job of building dramatic
ever Magic cards are sold. A Simple Plan is a bit closer to the mainstream but is hardly the standard Hollywood fare.
tension and suspense of any movie in recent memory.
A SIMPLE PLAN
■ Grade: A
■ Rating: R
■ Runtime: 2hours, 1.5 minutes
The tension in the movie doesn't revolve around whether the men will succeed in their venture — there's no doubt the idiots will mess things up — but instead focuses on watching the events unfold and waiting to see just how awful things can become.
Paxton puts forth his best performance since playing Chet in Weir Science. That's not saying much, but he does a perfectly adequate job of playing an emotionally-wrought character.
Thornton doesn't move away from his usual role but does a beautiful job of placing what could have been just an annoying, idiotic character into a more sympathetic light.
The only character who is difficult to feel sorry for is Paxton's wife, played by Bridget Fonda. At first.
Raimi makes excellent use of the setting, capitalizing on the bleakness of snow-covered rural terrain and the charming innocence of the small town's inhabitants.
Those who are obsessed with role-playing games will undoubtedly remember Raimi from the Evil Dead movie trilogy, which continues to be frequently rented wher-
she is the most reasonable character among the bunch, but she soon turns into a woman consumed by greed. The story of A. S.
ple Plan is certainly nothing new. What makes the movie so effective is that not only are the motivations of the principal characters clear, but it also is easy to empathize with their dreams and ambitions.
This makes their actions believable, and more importantly, less repugnant.
The only major weakness in the plot are how much it relies on the stupidity of numerous characters. This causes frustration in the audience but also adds to the tension.
Don't expect to leave the theater cheering for more, but be prepared to strike up a conversation on morality far more compelling than most you'll hear in a Western Civilization discussion.
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