The Max ’80s Crime Thriller That Changed Movies Forever
These days, the Coen brothers are widely lauded as one of the greatest filmmaking duos in cinema history. With such masterpieces under their belt as No Country For Old Men, Fargo, and Burn After Reading, the pair have solidified their shared position as one of the most sought-after names in the industry. However, long before the Coen brothers would become household names, their very first feature, Blood Simple, would put them on the map in 1984.
Blood Simple On Max
Blood Simple is currently available to stream on Max, for those of you looking to round out your marathon of Coen classics. The film features an incredible performance from frequent Coen brothers collaborator Frances McDormand, alongside John Getz, Dan Hedaya, M. Emmet Walsh, and several others.
Like many productions from the auteur siblings, the film follows a comedy of errors, centering on a growing series of misunderstandings which lead to dire outcomes for all parties involved.
A Crazy Plot
In Blood Simple, a local small-town bartender named Ray begins engaging in an affair with his bosses wife, Abby.
Humiliated, emasculated, and ashamed, the boss hires a private investigator to gather proof of the affair, and later asks the man to kill them both.
Seeking an easy payday, the private investigator doctors a series of photos to appear as though the couple have been killed, before shooting and robbing the bar owner himself.
Spiral Into A Blood Mess
Shortly thereafter, Ray goes to the bar to confront his former boss, only to see that he has been shot.
After assuming that Abby killed him, Ray attempts to bury the body as a means to protect her from any legal repercussions. In classic Coen brothers fashion, Blood Simple continues to spiral into a bloody mess, when Ray discovers that his former boss is still alive as he attempts to bury him.
Blueprint For Complex Narratives
As money changes hands, violence escalates, and a number of parties attempt to cover up their crimes to shield themselves from the police, Blood Simple continues to spiral out of control until nearly every character in the film is wounded, killed, or thoroughly confused.
The film serves as something of a blueprint for other complex narratives constructed by the filmmaking duo, who have developed an inimitable knack for taking the mundane and spinning it into chaos throughout their careers.
Launching The Coen Brothers
Blood Simple received overwhelmingly positive reviews, resulting in the film touting a highly impressive 94 percent certified fresh score on the review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes.
Though the film was only a moderate financial success, taking in 2.7 million at the box office against an estimated production budget of 1.5 million, the critical reception was enough to launch the Coen brothers‘ careers into the stratosphere. It allowed them the connections and financing to produce their 1987 follow up film Raising Arizona.
Stream Blood Simple
Blood Simple also received accolades including the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, as well as winning placements for Best Director and Best Actor at the 1st Independent Spirit Awards.
Though the film has gone on to be partially buried under the mountain of terrific modern films from the filmmakers, Blood Simple still holds up to this day.
Blood Simple is currently available to stream on Max.
