A Simple Plan (1998)

Three blue-collar acquaintances come across millions of dollars in lost cash and make a plan to keep their find from the authorities, but it isn't long before complications and mistrust weave their way into the plan.

Director:

Sam Raimi

Writers:

Scott B. Smith (novel), Scott B. Smith (screenplay)

Stars:

Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, Bridget Fonda

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 16 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bill Paxton	...	Hank
Bridget Fonda	...	Sarah
Billy Bob Thornton	...	Jacob
Brent Briscoe	...	Lou
Jack Walsh	...	Tom Butler
Chelcie Ross	...	Carl
Becky Ann Baker	...	Nancy Chambers
Gary Cole	...	Baxter
Bob Davis	...	FBI Agent Renkins
Peter Syvertsen	...	FBI Agent Freemont
Tom Carey	...	Dwight Stephanson
John Paxton	...	Mr. Schmitt
Marie Mathay	...	News Reporter
Paul Magers	...	Anchorman
Joan Steffand	...	Anchorwoman

Storyline

Three diverse characters, for the most part intellectually challenged, find a deserted plane with a bag full of millions of dollars inside. They devise a simple plan to keep the money if no-one claims it. Ofcourse, nothing turns out simple...

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Plot Keywords:

plane wreck | screenplay adapted by author | found money | bag of money | neo noir | 

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Taglines:

They've worked hard all their lives, but they still can't afford the American Dream. Stealing it is even better.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

The bar scenes were shot in Delano Minnesota. The bar used in the scenes was an old bar that was changed into a private residence in combination with the apartment above. The only real bar in town did not meet filming needs so the crew used the private residence and fixed up the interior to meet the look they were going for.

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Goofs

A funeral scene in the latter half of the movie takes place in the middle of winter, but is a full burial service. In Minnesota, as is the case with other northern locales where the ground is frozen for several months of the year, the funeral for someone who died in the winter would occur in two parts: a "real-time" memorial service followed by spring interment.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Hank Mitchell: [narrating] When I was still just a kid, I remember my father telling me what he thought that it took for a man to be happy. Simple things, really. A wife he loves, a decent job, friends and neighbors who like and respect him. And for a while there, without hardly even realizing it, I had all that. I was a happy man.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Memo to the Academy - 1999 (1999)

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Soundtracks

Deliver Me
Written by Christina Schlieske
Performed by Tina & the B-Sides
Courtesy of Sire Records Group
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

A study in desperation

A Simple Plan is certainly not a simple film, as some reviewers here had hoped it would be. The point is not how simple life is, but how horribly wrong and out of control things can get. This film takes you to the absolute depths of human greed, desperation, and frailty. It is amazing how many evil deeds one can rationalize by believing "and then it will all be over." A Simple Plan is a great character study which makes you think of what you would do in the same situation. At what point would you draw the line? How far would you go to keep millions of dollars all to yourself? The excellent photography adds to the sense of desperation that permeates the whole film. The vast, snowbound landscape is the perfect image for the feelings the main characters have for their station in life: cold, silent, lifeless, unending, and unrelenting.

Don't watch this movie unless you are prepared to see a group of people reach the end of their rope and make a series of life-changing decisions.

Details

Country:

UK Germany France USA Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 January 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Thousand Miles

Filming Locations:

Ashland, Wisconsin, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$390,563, 13 December 1998

Gross USA:

$16,316,273

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$16,316,273

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), H2L Media Group, Mutual Film Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1