If you find four million dollars, is it bad luck to pick it up if it's face down?

"A Simple Plan"
Overall Rating: ***


About two or three years ago, I heard a news story describing the "lottery's dirty secret." Apparently, there is an extremely high divorce rate among lottery winners, as well as numerous other family problems. Many families are destroyed by the sudden transition to wealth. As stressful as a lottery win might be, it isn't a huge stretch to imagine that a plundered fortune would be worse. That's the premise of "A Simple Plan."

One winter day, Hank Mitchell, his brother Jacob, and Jacob's best friend Lou (played by Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, and Brent Briscoe respectively) are driving through a remote area when they wreck the truck while trying to avoid hitting a fox. Jacob and Lou's first reaction is to track the fox through the snow and kill it. In the course of tracking the fox, however, they stumble across something worth more than a fox's pelt: a plane wreck with four million dollars in it.

The protagonist's gradual progression to worse and worse actions taken to keep their found fortune is perfectly believable. Slowly, they become criminals, constantly asking the question "Wouldn't you?" None of them start out bad, but they end up that way. The story is interesting, and holds your attention. The actors are what really make "A Simple Plan" work; all the performances are quite good. Best of all is Billy Bob Thornton--the mildly retarded Jacob; he is as convincing as the others, but the nature of his character makes his a much tougher role to play.

The film also has nice touches. The one that comes to mind immediately is shot of the fox breaking into the chicken coop. This shot conveys the idea of theft--reinforcing the idea before the money is ever found. It also helps establish the setting. Finally, it explains why the fox was running across the road--which leads into the main plotline.

Yet, as believable and realistic as "A Simple Plan" tries to be, it does strain credibility in a few places. There is no explanation for why Hank returned to his hometown, for instance: with a reference to his having been an accountant, one wonders why he's now working in a feed store. The setup for the climactic scene also strains credibility--without giving away the end, I'd simply say that several people miss several things they should have caught. The biggest problem with "A Simple Plan" is that I don't think it quite works as a whole. Aside from the fairly minor problems with the story, on examining any specific aspect of the film, I'd say "yes, it's well made;" but as a whole, it's not particularly satisfying--it doesn't completely come together. Maybe I'm not as convinced by the frequently asked "wouldn't you?" as the filmmakers want; maybe the characters aren't as sympathetic as the filmmakers want.

"A Simple Plan" is not a good choice for children; there is a great deal of strong language and violence, and some nudity. As for myself, I found "A Simple Plan" interesting the first time around, and not bad at all; but I'm not in a hurry to go back and see it again, and I probably won't even rent it when it comes out on video. "A Simple Plan" certainly is not as good as finding a million dollars.


Title: "A Simple Plan"
Release date: 1/22/99 (nationwide) / 12/11/98 (limited)
MPAA rating: R
Overall rating: ***

Aprox. run time: 121 min.
Director: Sam Raimi
Writer: Scott B. Smith (novel and screenplay)
Stars: Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, Brent Briscoe, Bridget Fonda (plays Sarah Mitchell)


Original URL: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Mansion/7045/simplan.htm
Added to blog site: 8/5/09