A Simple Plan

Starring: Bill Paxton, Bridget Fonda, Billy Bob Thornton, Brent Briscoe, Gary Cole, Chelcie Ross
Directed by: Sam Raimi
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Thriller
1998

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Three men (Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, Brent Briscoe) find a crashed plane with millions of dollars inside. They decide to take the money, but their plan slowly spirals out of control.

Review:

Tim: I really wanted to like A Simple Plan. I'm a fan of director Sam Raimi, the cast looked terrific, and the film was nominated for two Academy Awards. However, despite my optimistic intentions, I simply couldn't get into this film. Don't get me wrong, it's a decent movie, but it's a vastly overrated one. There are some big flaws that frustrated me.

I did like the basic premise- three men find millions of dollars in a small plane that crashed in an empty field. They debate what to do about it. This felt intriguing. What would you do in the same situation? The logical answer is to call the police, but those millions would start to speak to you. What if you could take it and no one would ever know you did? This question is a terrific one and it sets the film up well. The aspect of the story I loved is that the three men who find the film couldn't be more different. One is straitlaced and intelligent. One is a loser, a loose gun who acts without thinking. And one is an easily influenced man with some minor social challenges. This is brilliant because the lies, betrayals, and deception between these three men is fascinating to watch. What starts out as a simple plan quickly spirals out of control. It's legitimately entertaining to watch this spiral. So, the movie has a great deal based on a solid source material (I haven't read the book, but it seems solid enough). Why didn't the film work as well as it should have?

One of the chief concerns I have is that Raimi takes too plodding an approach to the film. It's a talky movie, which makes the two hour run time feel too long. There are some tense moments, but long stretches in between that don't feel as compelling. The middle of the movie just feels soggy to me, as it bogs down. Characters do some pretty illogical things throughout the film that don't always align with their motivations as we've understood them. This is most apparent towards the end of the film. I also understand the whole point of the movie is that what starts out as a simple plan to steal money quickly spirals out of control. Some of the unexpected twists these three men face were logical, some were a bit farfetched.

I'm a big Bill Paxton fan. I thought he did a good job in this role, but it wasn't one of his better performances. His character felt somewhat underdeveloped. I know the baby and his job were supposed to be motivations for his actions, but I never felt like I really understood his character. This felt like an issue with the script, as Paxton is generally pretty strong in the role. I was a bit surprised that Billy Bob Thornton was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role. I mean, he did a fairly good job, but it felt like this was too close to his role in Sling Blade, like he was milking this role for all it was worth. It felt like his performance was more showy than sticking with what was best for the film. I admit Thornton has some good moments, but as a whole, I didn't think his performance was award-worthy. I actually really enjoyed the performance of Brent Briscoe. His job is challenging because he's playing a somewhat unlikable character who spends a chunk of the film getting on the other characters' nerves (and ours as well). I have to give him such credit, though- he perfectly captured this character. I've met many people who this character reminded me of- people with low intelligence and high confidence. It felt like a very authentic performance and I was impressed with him. It felt like Bridget Fonda's character was so removed from everything else taking place. I was disappointed in how small a role she ended up having. Fonda is a talented actress but she felt disconnected for the entire film. I was actually quite disappointed by how little she is able to impact the film.

A Simple Plan certainly has some solid moments, but it felt like Raimi missed a number of opportunities to make this movie great. While I enjoyed aspects of the movie, I was surprised that I didn't fully buy into the stories or characters. Raimi is never able to fully weave these elements together into a truly effective film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels