Blood Simple
It was never going to be simple, not when blood and anger and money and jealousy were mixed together in a small town; Abby, married to Julian, has finally decided to leave him, any love which once existed long burned out, barman Ray giving her a lift and confessing that he has always liked her, a foolish choice in a situation already ready to spark despite the rain washing down.
Private detective Loren Visser trailing them, he delivers the photographs to Julian, more than he was contracted for, twisting the knife; making a decision, Julian offers $10,000 for a not exactly legal off the books contract, to be rid of both his cheating wife and his easily replaced barman, taking a fishing trip to provide an alibi even though the motive and money lead right back to the bar he owns.
The debut thriller of writing and directing siblings Joel and Ethan Coen, Blood Simple starts out messy and goes downhill, turning down a dirt track and leaving a clear trail across a freshly tilled field, a bad situation where clear heads and better decisions might have made it all different but heat and emotion and tempers and misunderstandings amplify every mistake, Texas a state where trust is rare but suspicion and guns are endemic.
Starring Zodiac‘s John Getz as Ray, Alien: Resurrection‘s Dan Hedaya as Julian and Blade Runner‘s M Emmet Walsh as Loren, sour-faced men who deserve each other and all they get, with Samm-Art Williams as Meurice, wisely staying behind the bar and treading lightly between the movers and shakers, in her screen debut as Coen Brothers regular Frances McDormand never makes Abby’s motivation clear, distancing herself from events but not so far that she cannot influence them.
Julian sowing doubt early on with Ray, warning how she is practiced at acting innocent, with what became the Coen’s trademark Blood Simple devolves into a violent comedy of shocks and misapprehensions, circumstances undermining hastily made plans and snap decisions backfiring with grim absurdity, cleaning up murder for your lover a different proposition when it involves burying someone alive.
The Director’s Cut of Blood Simple unusual in that it is three minutes shorter than the original release, with edits tightened and also the original soundtrack choices restored after rights issues were resolved, joining StudioCanal’s Classics collection it is supported by three new features covering the designing, shooting and scoring, archive interviews with the Coens, Getz and Walsh, and the original “fake” trailer starring Bruce Campbell as a proof of concept to raise interest and funding for the production.
Blood Simple will be available on Steelbook, 4K UHD and Blu-ray from StudioCanal Monday 5th October
