Movies - Blood Simple

Home > Listing Index > Movies > Blood Simple

	Movies - Blood Simple

Blood Simple is a neo noir film, the debut of Joel and Ethan Coen, writers and directors of Fargo, The Man Who Wasn't There
, and Raising Arizona
, among others. Barry Sonnenfeld, the film's cinematographer, is himself now a noted director. The film was originally released in 1984, and later re-released in 2001 in a "director's cut".

The title was coined by Dashiell Hammett in his novel Red Harvest, where he used it to describe the addled, fearful mindset people are in after committing murder.

Set in Texas, the story begins with the introduction of Ray (John Getz) and Abby (Frances McDormand), driving down the highway in pouring rain. Ray works at a bar owned by Julian Marty (Dan Hedaya), who is married to Abby. Though there had been no previous relations between Ray and Abby before, they end up spending the night together in a motel; and unbeknownst to them, their every move is being documented by a private detective (M. Emmet Walsh), hired by a suspicious Marty to spy on Abby. Marty is informed and lets them know that he knows; the detective furnishes Marty with photos of the liaison. Despite Abby's protests, straightforward Ray decides to confront Marty about the misdeed, but a subdued Marty shows little anger at Ray, though he is secretly furious. When Marty fires him during the confrontation, Ray does the honourable thing and leaves quietly and without incident, though not before demanding two weeks' worth of owed back pay. Marty threatens to shoot Ray if he comes back to the bar.

Sometime later, Marty breaks into Ray's apartment, where Abby has spent the night, gets into a struggle with Abby and forces her outside, and is incapacitated by a knee to the groin and a broken finger; he leaves in his car as Ray comes outside buckling his pants. Ray hugs Abby, watching as Marty speeds down the street.

Marty becomes increasingly irritated with the couple's liaisons and hires the detective to kill them, then goes on a fishing trip. The private detective goes to Ray's apartment and breaks in while the two are asleep; he steals Abby's revolver from her purse and goes outside. The gun has three bullets in it. The detective delivers a large manila envelope to Marty, telling him that the bodies are taken care of. When the detective delivers the photo, he places his lighter on the desk, which then Marty covers with fish he caught while he was on a trip the private eye advised him to go on to create an alibi for Marty. The envelope contains a photo showing the two in bed together with several bullet holes apiece, leaking blood. Marty appears to be nauseated by the photo and excuses himself to the restroom with the photo. On the way back, he stops at his business safe, opens it, and removes $10,000 to pay the detective for the murders. He gives the detective the money and the manila envelope. The detective checks the money and shoots Marty--the only person who knew about hiring the detective for murder--and leaves Abby's revolver behind. However, he forget his lighter, still covered by the fish.

Ray arrives at the bar to insist that Marty pay him the wages he's owed--apparently the private detective has faked the photo he gave to Marty. Marty is sitting in a chair facing away from him; he doesn't respond to anything Ray says, and doesn't move when Ray steps on a gun, setting it off. Ray walks around the chair and sees that Marty is slumped forward, bleeding from the chest; he has a hole in his chest and a large pool of blood beneath the chair; blood is dripping down his hand onto the floor. Ray goes to retrieve Abby's gun from under a piece of furniture, and stands staring at it awhile: it is Abby's revolver. Ray is interrupted by Meurice, who arrives in the bar outside Marty's office. Ray runs to shut and lock the office door; Meurice calls for Marty, gets no response, and then tells a woman that it's ladies night--drinks are free--and puts The Four Tops' "Same Old Song," loudly, on the jukebox. Ray uses the noise from outside to mask his cleaning the office, and removes Marty's body, dropping Abby's gun into Marty's coat pocket. Ray then packs Marty in his car and drives off, but not before throwing the windbreaker and towel into the incinerator behind the bar.

Ray is driving down the highway when he hears a noise from behind: Marty is alive. He stops the car and jumps out, panicked, running over a field of dirt. On returning to the car, he sees that the back driver's side door is open and Marty is gone. He is crawling down the highway, muttering. At first Ray debates running him over with his car, but then follows him with a shovel, intending to kill him that way, but is interrupted by an oncoming semi-tractor. Ray considers throwing Marty into the path of the truck, but instead he picks up Marty and drags him back to the car, forcing him in as the semi passes. Ray digs a hole and throws Marty in. He is in process of burying him when Marty discovers Abby's gun in his jacket pocket. He pulls it out, trembling, points it at Ray, and pulls the trigger. It clicks; he pulls it again, and again; Ray removes the gun from him and continues to bury Marty alive.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Blood Simple ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Blood Simple; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.

Searches on eBay