Most of the elements of "A Simple Plan" were adequate. The story carried me along and kept me interested. Cold, snowy and occasionally cerulean Minnesota countryside provided a peaceful backdrop that perfectly contrasted the abundance of dirty, greedy, evil goings-on. Performances were very good. Writing was decent enough. Yet the movie never fully took off due to a lot of 'little' things.
Firstly, it takes itself way too seriously. Part of the reason why "Fargo" (a picture that often comes to mind while watching this) was so appealing was its irreverent, unaware-of-itself, off-the-cuff style. In more than a few scenes of "A Simple Plan" through the frequent use of extreme close-ups, cartoonish makeup and lighting (especially on Bridget Fonda) director Sam Raimi is almost annoyingly shouting at us to sit up straight and prepare to have another ridiculously obvious lesson on morality and human psyche rammed down our throats.
Even the movie's tagline - 'Sometimes good people do evil things' - sounds kind of cheesy.
Additionally, the ending seems tacked on. The sudden introduction of Gary Cole, the lead-up to the showdown and the ensuing shootout simply feel unnatural. Not to mention the twist by which Hank (Bill Paxton) gets to keep the money but then learns the bills' serial numbers have been recorded by the feds who are now waiting for them to surface. And this is what makes Hank decide to burn the dough? I mean, p-leaseeee!!! Throughout the movie, fuelled by his desire to keep this fortune he found a way out of the most impossible situations even if it required him to lie, cheat, plot and kill and then ultimately this technicality is the detail that does him in and makes him give it all up!??
He didn't get a conscience all of a sudden, we know that. He burned the money not because it reminded him of the carnage he left in his wake in order to keep it or something along those lines, but only because he was looking at this seemingly insurmountable 'obstacle' of bills being marked.
I guess the filmmakers or the studio didn't want to show behaviour like this be rewarded or maybe they thought the fact that he lives is enough of a perk. Whatever the thinking and reasoning, it was all very unconvincing.
On the other hand, the most admirable parts include excellent performances from Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, Brent Briscoe and several truly great exchanges between them.
To put it in simple terms - good enough but I wanted more.
Firstly, it takes itself way too seriously. Part of the reason why "Fargo" (a picture that often comes to mind while watching this) was so appealing was its irreverent, unaware-of-itself, off-the-cuff style. In more than a few scenes of "A Simple Plan" through the frequent use of extreme close-ups, cartoonish makeup and lighting (especially on Bridget Fonda) director Sam Raimi is almost annoyingly shouting at us to sit up straight and prepare to have another ridiculously obvious lesson on morality and human psyche rammed down our throats.
Even the movie's tagline - 'Sometimes good people do evil things' - sounds kind of cheesy.
Additionally, the ending seems tacked on. The sudden introduction of Gary Cole, the lead-up to the showdown and the ensuing shootout simply feel unnatural. Not to mention the twist by which Hank (Bill Paxton) gets to keep the money but then learns the bills' serial numbers have been recorded by the feds who are now waiting for them to surface. And this is what makes Hank decide to burn the dough? I mean, p-leaseeee!!! Throughout the movie, fuelled by his desire to keep this fortune he found a way out of the most impossible situations even if it required him to lie, cheat, plot and kill and then ultimately this technicality is the detail that does him in and makes him give it all up!??
He didn't get a conscience all of a sudden, we know that. He burned the money not because it reminded him of the carnage he left in his wake in order to keep it or something along those lines, but only because he was looking at this seemingly insurmountable 'obstacle' of bills being marked.
I guess the filmmakers or the studio didn't want to show behaviour like this be rewarded or maybe they thought the fact that he lives is enough of a perk. Whatever the thinking and reasoning, it was all very unconvincing.
On the other hand, the most admirable parts include excellent performances from Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, Brent Briscoe and several truly great exchanges between them.
To put it in simple terms - good enough but I wanted more.