| Revision as of 07:00, 21 December 2013 editTicket2099 (talk | contribs)12 edits Undid revision 586494690 by TheOldJacobite (talk) Rationale already stated.← Previous edit | Revision as of 07:09, 21 December 2013 edit undo50.76.39.189 (talk) Undid revision 587066368 by Ticket2099 (talk) - original researchTag: section blankingNext edit → | ||
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| At the police station, Hank tells his story to real FBI agents. As Sarah predicted, no one would believe this upstanding member of the community would be capable of such wrongdoing, and he is cleared. But he is told that the money was ransom, and before it was delivered, many of the bills' ] were written down to track the cash. Hank realizes he cannot use the money without being caught. He goes home and burns it all. He and Sarah go back to their old lives and Hank reflects on their losses. | At the police station, Hank tells his story to real FBI agents. As Sarah predicted, no one would believe this upstanding member of the community would be capable of such wrongdoing, and he is cleared. But he is told that the money was ransom, and before it was delivered, many of the bills' ] were written down to track the cash. Hank realizes he cannot use the money without being caught. He goes home and burns it all. He and Sarah go back to their old lives and Hank reflects on their losses. | ||
| ==Differences between the film and the novel== | |||
| The ] made numerous changes to the plot, particularly to events in the second half of the novel. In the movie, after Lou and Nancy are killed, Hank does not kill Jacob; rather, he constructs a domestic dispute situation involving just Nancy and Lou, with he and Jacob walking in after Lou had killed Nancy. Hank also murders Lou and Nancy's neighbor at Sarah's suggestion in order to cover up their murder. | |||
| Hank and Jacob's relationship is somewhat different. Though still not close, they have more affection for one another in the film than in the novel. While the Jacob of the novel is morbidly obese, the one in the film is small and skinny. Though in both mediums Jacob is a pathetic loser, in the film he is much kinder and considerate, while in the novel he is much more selfish and even scheming. | |||
| Lou in the film is married, while in the novel he lives with his girlfriend. Though spiteful and antagonistic towards Hank in both mediums, in the novel Lou is notably more malicious, taking joy in ridiculing and bullying Hank. | |||
| The film also changes Hank's reaction to finding out Baxter isn't an FBI agent. Rather than bolting, as he does in the novel, Hank stays with the plan realizing that if he leaves Baxter will kill Carl. Jacob also accompanies the crew. The result is a bloodbath, with only Hank surviving. Jacob is killed by Hank after Jacob threatens to commit suicide because he feels he can no longer live with what he's seen; Hank didn't want him to kill himself because which guns shot whom needed to align for his alibi. | |||
| Hank's killing spree at the convenience store is also excluded from the film. | |||
| ==Cast== | ==Cast== | ||
Revision as of 07:09, 21 December 2013
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| A Simple Plan | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Sam Raimi |
| Screenplay by | Scott Smith |
| Produced by | James Jacks Adam Schroeder Mark Gordon Gary Levinsohn |
| Starring | Bill Paxton Billy Bob Thornton Bridget Fonda |
| Cinematography | Alar Kivilo |
| Edited by | Arthur Coburn |
| Music by | Danny Elfman |
| Production companies | Savoy Pictures Mutual Film Company Renaissance Pictures The Mark Gordon Company |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date |
|
| Running time | 121 minutes |
| Countries | France United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $17 million |
| Box office | $16,311,763 (US) |
A Simple Plan is a 1998 American drama film directed by Sam Raimi, based on the novel of the same name by Scott Smith, who also wrote the screenplay of the film. The film stars Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton and Bridget Fonda. It was shot in Delano, Minnesota and Ashland and Saxon, Wisconsin. Billy Bob Thornton was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Scott Smith was nominated for the Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay.
Several prominent critics praised the film for its complexity and taut suspense (four stars from Roger Ebert and Critic's Choice from The New York Times).
Plot
Hank Mitchell and his pregnant wife, Sarah, live in rural Minnesota. Hank, one of the town's few college graduates, works in a feed mill, while his wife is a librarian. Hank's brother, Jacob, is a dim-witted fellow. When Hank, Jacob, and Jacob's friend, Lou, chase a fox into the woods, they find a crashed airplane. The pilot is dead and the only cargo is a bag containing $4.4 million in unmarked bills.
Hank suggests turning the money in, but is persuaded not to by Jacob and Lou. Hank's condition is that he keep the money safe at his house and no one spends anything until winter ends and everyone moves away when they divvy up the cash. All agree to keep the discovery a secret. When they return to their vehicle, Carl, the sheriff, appears and Hank nervously talks to him while Jacob mentions hearing a plane in the area. Hank breaks the pact when he reveals the discovery to his wife, who is overjoyed.
When Hank and Jacob return to the plane to put some of the money back as part of a larger plan to avoid suspicion, they come across an old man on a snowmobile. Jacob, thinking their cover is blown, bludgeons the man. When the man regains consciousness and asks for the police, Hank suffocates him in order to make it look like an accidental death. Jacob reneges on his promise to move away during the summer, and tells his brother about his intention to buy his father's farm with his share of the money. Hank thinks that his brother is being ridiculous as neither of them know anything about farming.
Lou drunkenly demands some of the money from Hank, because he has spent recklessly since the discovery and needs cash fast. Hank refuses and Lou threatens to tell the authorities about the old man's death. Hank and Jacob team up against Lou. Lou, drunk and enraged that the two conspired against him, pulls a gun on the two brothers. Jacob kills Lou to save his brother, and then Hank kills Lou's wife when she appears, firing another gun. Hank concocts a plan as to what to tell the police to avoid arrest. The plan works, thanks to Hank's solid reputation in the community and Jacob's rehearsed speech to the police. Jacob tells Hank that this whole turn of events is wearing on him and that he "feels evil".
Later, the sheriff calls Hank and tells him that an FBI agent has arrived, looking for a plane that may have crashed in the area. Because Jacob mentioned a plane earlier, the sheriff asks the brothers to assist in the search. Sarah is skeptical and discovers that the FBI man is an impostor. Hank goes with him in order to protect Carl, but brings a gun with him just in case. The sheriff, the FBI man, Hank, and Jacob split up and head into the woods. When they find the plane, the FBI man pulls a gun, kills the sheriff, and says that he is looking for the money. Hank manages to kill the man with the gun he brought. When Jacob arrives, Hank starts to concoct another story to tell the authorities, but Jacob announces he does not want to live with these bad memories, and will shoot himself to end it. He encourages Hank to kill him instead and frame the FBI man, so that Hank can tell any story he wants. After grappling with the decision, Hank kills Jacob, and starts sobbing.
At the police station, Hank tells his story to real FBI agents. As Sarah predicted, no one would believe this upstanding member of the community would be capable of such wrongdoing, and he is cleared. But he is told that the money was ransom, and before it was delivered, many of the bills' serial numbers were written down to track the cash. Hank realizes he cannot use the money without being caught. He goes home and burns it all. He and Sarah go back to their old lives and Hank reflects on their losses.
Cast
- Bill Paxton as Hank Mitchell
- Bridget Fonda as Sarah Mitchell
- Billy Bob Thornton as Jacob Mitchell
- Brent Briscoe as Lou Chambers
- Jack Walsh as Tom Butler
- Chelcie Ross as Sheriff Carl Jenkins
- Becky Ann Baker as Nancy Chambers
- Gary Cole as Neil Baxter
Reception
A Simple Plan was met with critical acclaim, receiving a 90% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Billy Bob Thornton was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, but lost against James Coburn of Affliction. Thornton was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture, but lost against Ed Harris in The Truman Show. The film earned two thumbs up from Siskel and Ebert and is often thought of as one of Sam Raimi's best films, and an improvement upon the book it is based on.
In an article for the journal Post Script, scholar Jane Hill writes,
Although Richard Schickel links the film to Robert Frost's poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" and a number of reviewers make note of its similarities to the Coen brothers' Fargo, as well as to such classic films as John Huston's Treasure of the Sierra Madre and Stanley Kubrick's The Killing, it is through even deeper intertextual roots that Smith and Raimi reveal their complicated ideological statement regarding the state of the American dream at the end of the twentieth century... Smith and Raimi transpose three specific sign systems, or texts, central to the western canon: Shakespeare's Macbeth, John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, and Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. Through their complicated interweaving of these language "systems," the filmmakers achieve a new articulation of the relationship between the American dream and ambition, between Christian morality and capitalistic expectations.
Box office
IMDB lists a total US box office of $16,311,763.
Home media
A Simple Plan was released as a Region 1 DVD on June 22, 1999. The film was released as a region-free blu-ray disc in Germany on November 12, 2012.
References
- ^ "Box office / business for A Simple Plan". Retrieved 07 June 2013.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); line feed character in|title=at position 26 (help) - Hill, Jane (Fall 2004). "Ambition and Ideology: Intertextual Clues to A Simple Plan's View of the American Dream". Post Script. 24 (1): 62.
- A Simple Plan at Amazon.de
External links
- A Simple Plan at IMDb
- A Simple Plan at Box Office Mojo
- A Simple Plan at Rotten Tomatoes
- Roger Ebert's Review
- New York Times review