Delayed Reaction: Blood Simple

The Pitch: What if everyone in a love triangle was really bad at getting bloddy revenge?

A husband hires a hitman to kill his cheating wife and the man she's with. Things don't go according to plan.

I love the early movies of great directors. Not because there are necesarily all that good. Rather, the movies are stripped down version of what the directors do. All writing and direction but none of the casting and resources. That's definitely the case with the Coen Brothers and Blood Simple. There isn't much to the story. It has about 5 characters. 4 of them are double-crossing each other or misunderstanding their situations. It's a lean 96 minutes and doesn't spend much time on distractions. It sets a lot of Coen tropes. The violence. Incopetent criminals. Nihilistic outlook. I'm not sure someone watching this in 1985 could've predicted the heights and scope of the Coens' careers - that's asking a lot out of any director - but it's an exciting debut, filled with promise.

The cast is very Coen-y. Of course, Frances McDormand (in her on-screen debut) and M. Emmet Walsh are good. I don't remember Dan Hedaya or John Getz showing up in any other Coen movies. Hedaya in particular surprises me. He would fit in any of their more idiosyncratic worlds of their later films.

Blood Simple is essential for anyone who is a fan of the Coen Brothers' later work. It just explains so much.

Verdict: Strongly Recommend