Blood Simple: The Coen Brothers the Early Years

Blood Simple (1984)


I watched this little gem after doing a random scan of my local video store's thriller section.  While it's nice to be directed towards a film because of something you have heard about it, it is always rewarding to find something you know little about and have nothing to influence your viewing experience.

Blood Simple was Joel and Ethan Coen's directorial debut.  It has a neo-noir feel, with numerous anti-heroes and visual plays with shadows and light.  A very young Frances McDormand (who would star in the Coen Brother's first big hit Fargo in 1996) plays a bar owner's wife having an affair with her bartender. Her husband (played by Dan Hedaya) hires a hitman to kill the two of them but his plan backfires and confusion ensues.

Frances McDormand (Blood Simple, 1984)

Blood Simple has many of the classic characteristics of a Coen Brother's film:  the dark nature of the plot, violence, minor misunderstandings leading to major events and a plethora of anti-heroes.  It has a simple premise held together by Joel and Ethan's great attention to detail and storytelling abilities.

The film was scored by Carter Burwell's first collaboration with the Coen Brothers.  It was a match made in heaven and he would go on to score all of their future films.  To accentuate the old bar feel, and add some classic poppy music to dark scenes, are songs like "Louie, Louie" (Toots and the Maytals) and "It's the Same Old Song" (The Four Tops).

Apparently Zhang Yimou released a loose remake of Blood Simple in 2009 as a comedy set in a Chinese noodle shop.   Might have to be the next film on my list!