A Simple Plan (1998) User Reviews

Four adults, lots of money, no one else knows, oh what to do?

[TxMike · 7 September 1999]

"A Simple Plan" immediately reminds you of "Fargo". A dull, snowy winter. Men beginning to cheat on a small scale, which then begins to escalate until it becomes out of control. And no one will *like* the ending, but it is the only ending that could make this fine film complete.

It is filmed in Minnesota in the wintertime. Two brothers come upon a small plane that has crashed. Since there have been no news reports, they rightly assume no one knows about it. There's a dead pilot inside, plus money, lots of money. Everyone knows what the 'right' thing to do is. But what will they do? What would most people do? How do attitudes change as participants begin to think of the possibilities?

The acting, especially Billy Bob Thornton, is excellent. You will watch the film without blinking. You will ask yourself, "what would I do in a similar situation?" Unless you only like light entertainment, you really need to see this film.

Edit April 2020: I own the DVD but only watch it every few years, as I did currently. My opinion of the movie has not changed since my first viewing, good movie but sometimes hard to watch.

Bleak crime drama in the wintery Minnesota woods

[Wuchakk · 8/10 · 2 June 2019]

Two brothers & a friend from a small town in Minnesota (Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton and Brent Briscoe) happen upon a crashed plane in the woods, which contains over $4 million in cash. They assume it's drug money and hatch a simple plan to sit on the money until spring when the plane is discovered; if no one legitimately claims it they'll divvy it up. But things don't go according to plan due to idiocy, mistrust and greed. Bridget Fonda is on hand as the main protagonist's wife.

Directed by Sam Raimi before his ultra-success with the Spider-Man trilogy, "A Simple Plan" (1998) was written by Scott B. Smith based on his page-turning book of the same name (there are enough changes to make both worthwhile). The wintery Minnesota setting is fitting for the bleak psychological drama. Speaking of which, the best thing about this movie is its exploration of human nature and how "the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil," as the Bible puts it.

The movie effectively shows how basically good and normal people can be corrupted by the temptation of easy wealth; so corrupted that he or she is suddenly willing to murder, lie and connive. The story works so well because of the three well-defined characters. We've all met these types in real life: The wholesome, educated man who's not quite living up to his potential and yet is generally satisfied; the loser, screw-up who's never been with a girl even though he's in his 40s; and the annoying redneck hick.

The film runs 2 hours and was shot in Minnesota (Delano, St. Paul & Golden Valley) and Wisconsin (Ashland).

GRADE: A-

At what cost?

[TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews · 8/10 · 30 July 2009]

Say what you will about him, like him or hate him, you gotta admit that Raimi knows the craft. Here, he puts Hitchcock's methods to good use, decades after the master died, and creates amounts of suspense that honor his memory. The tension is thick and impossible to ignore. This is exciting and engaging, and it's completely realistic, down to earth and human, to boot. The pace is spot-on, this never outruns the viewer, in spite of being fast and tight, and so much of the relationships and past being told to us through hints, the behaviour and how situations evolve. More thrillers should be like this. This also qualifies as noir and drama. The acting is beyond reproach, there's not a single performance that is lacking, and I'd say Paxton does pretty good in a lead role. Kudos to Thornton for not turning his part into a caricature. The writing is excellent. I have not read the novel, but I would like to do so. I understand that this isn't entirely as brutal as the book, though it is disturbing, and, at times, violent. The cinematography and editing are incredible. There is some strong language in this. The story is magnificent, and develops so well throughout. Thank you, Sam, for making an effort, for not just going for the lowest common denominator, and for understanding that it was the build-up - not purely the plot twist at the end - that made Alfred, and his films, such treasure. The DVD holds a theatrical trailer. I recommend this to any fan of the director and/or anyone else who helped create it. 8/10

Simply Terrific

[Steve-176 · 7 February 1999]

Simply one of the best films of the year, perhaps the decade! A Simple Plan is about three men who find a huge amount of money in a plane wreck. They decide to keep the dough. It's like winning the lottery. It's the American Dream except that " you're supposed to work for the American Dream. But that just makes this better" replies one of the characters.

A Simple Plan stars Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton as two Minnesotan brothers Hank and Jacob who find the money with Jake's friend Lou played by Brent Briscoe.

The film is directed by Sam Raimi, the creator of the Evil Dead movies and there are some suitably macabre and funny Evil Dead touches to this masterpiece, although Raimi doesn't botch A Simple Plan up as he did with Sharon Stone's The Quick And The Dead a couple of years ago. This is a restrained, delicate Raimi.

A Simple Plan instead is on one plane a wry incisive comment on the human condition, but it's also a cautionary tale about the evil good men can do.

The characters are fascinating. Paxton as Hank is the brainy one of the three. He's been to college and has a wife (Bridget Fonda) who's just about to have a baby. Jacob is slow and sad with a big touch of goodness about him. His hair is lank, his teeth are dirty, he's in his thirties and has never had a girlfriend.

Jake gets drunk most days and nights with his boozing friend Lou, and both are unemployed. The prospect of a ton of money is as unsettling and exciting to this lot as it would be to any honest person who becomes suddenly very rich unexpectedly and illegally. This find is guaranteed to turn their lives up side down.

But things take increasingly violent turns until A Simple Plan has the air of a Shakespearian tragedy solidly biased by Hitchcockian twists. Add to this Raimi's weird sense of humour and a Coen Brothers, Fargo like frozen air and you have a superb film that will have you laughing uncomfortably as you ponder the extent to which men and women will go nuts and nasty when greed overcomes them.

Quite rightly both Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton are being touted for big acting awards as a result of their work in this marvellous film.

Well filmed, well paced drama-come-thriller that never goes too far

[bob the moo · 27 June 2002]

Hank, Jacob and Lou are out for a ride in Hank's truck when they hit a tree. Walking out into the snow they find a crashed plane in the woods with the pilot dead and a bag of money ($4 million). They decide to keep the money and wait to see if anything is mentioned about it. However as time passes mistrust and betrayal becomes murder as the original simple plan becomes more and more complex.

Sam Rami is a great director, albeit more well known for less subtle films than this such as the Evil Dead movies. However here he shows that he can deal with things that lack in OTT visuals etc but be a good subtle director. The basic story starts simply and gets more convoluted very easily. The plot twists are never absurd even if they are extreme, the way the story builds gradually is one of it's strengths. The best bit is the way that everything is simple (as in the title) – the snow makes all the scenes a simple white, the relationships are simple and the misunderstandings are straight forward. This simple nature makes the twists even more powerful as they come in the middle of a `normal' situation..

The cast are all very good. Paxton is especially good in the lead as the man who doesn't want to take the money originally who then is forced to take the lead in the actions that need doing to cover the crime. Thornton is the best – he not even that recognizable and he deals with his role really well. He may be a simpleton but he doesn't make it just a cartoon role. Briscoe is less well defined and Fonda isn't really key to the plot. Gary Cole has a small part towards the end and Paxton Snr has a small role.

Overall this is very enjoyable. As a noir it is very different to have it in a Fargo landscape. Rami's toned down direction is very good and he does very well with the exciting twists and with the emotional sections too. A different, sometimes slow, but very enjoyable thriller of greed and mistrust.

Dark and twisted - classy

[Rumples · 8/10 · 17 August 1999]

This is not a pleasant film and you are going to have to think a little - if this doesn't sound like your type of movie, stay away! If, however, you like intelligent and peculiar film-making, then you'll probably appreciate A Simple Plan. In an effort somewhat reminiscient of Fargo meets Shallow Grave, this clever, dark, character drama explores some unpleasant ground to produce a quirky and distrubing overall result. I must admit I finished this movie feeling rather unpleasant, but struck by its intellect and striking dialogue and performances. This movie is definitely worth the price of a video. My vote 8/10

Twisted, but exceptionally crafted.

[lordrob · 9/10 · 4 January 1999]

This is not the film to see if you're looking for a feel-good Hollywood anesthetic to cope with the end of the holiday season. If, however, you wish to experience a great film, then I highly recommend *A Simple Plan*. Its disturbing twist on the American dream may be too difficult for some--especially the very dark ending--but that is part of what makes the film such quality fare. Scott B. Smith's screenplay is tight and flawless. Sam Raimi's inspired direction may finally reveal to the rest of the film industry what fans of the Evil Dead trilogy have known for years: that, though his tongue is often firmly in his cheek, Raimi is a fine and grossly underrated filmmaker. Especially impressive is the way he and cinematographer Alar Kivilo approach the snow-covered landscapes. There is an immensity to the frozen wastelands of the film's crucial scenes that is almost worthy of David Lean. Also commendable is Raimi's skillful use of animals (among them crows and foxes) for symbolic purposes.

But the cast, not to be outdone by their crew, is equally notable. Billy Bob Thornton gives his best performance to date, surpassing even his award-winning role in *Sling Blade*. Bill Paxton is phenomenal as a straight-laced-family-man- turned sociopath, and Bridget Fonda's convincing portrayal of Paxton's determined wife complements him well.

Audiences at the screening I saw were commenting on the film's similarities to *Fargo* as they exited the theater, and seemed to belittle *A Simple Plan* for its lack of "originality." Granted, *A Simple Plan* is not entirely original. There are indeed vague shadows of *Fargo*, as well as *Macbeth* and Robert Frost, among others. But there is no such thing as an entirely original work, as great art is made by standing on the shoulders of giants. Make no mistake, this is NOT a cheap replay of *Fargo*. The differences are too numerous to note here, but suffice it to say that *A Simple Plan* is a great work in its own right, and deserves to be appreciated as such.

A study in desperation

[bandguy · 17 July 2000]

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.

Modern film noir with drama, suspense and sensational performances

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 30 October 2007]

The film deals about Hank(Bill Paxton), his loser brother Jacob(Billy Bob Thornton) and Jacob's best friend, a boozy bud named Lou(Brent Briscoe) find the wreckage of an airplane in the heavy snowy Minnesota forests. The pilot encounters dead and appear a bag filled with various million dollars in stolen money, that they think is dope cash.The trio decide to keep silence about it and Hank hold the money hidden in his house.But someone else is looking for the money, a Fed agent(Gary Cole) and the sheriff(Chelcie Ross)are investigating. Besides, the Hank's mean and pregnant spouse(Bridget Fonda)brings out the greed and soon bad things start to happen to everybody those involved.

This neo-noir story contains drama, thriller, tragedy and is quite entertaining. From the beginning to the ending, suspense and mystery is continuous. The film is plenty of twists, especially on its final part and the script is adapted from the 1993 novel by Scott Smith. The picture is well set and shot in rural small town of Delano, Minnesota. Acting by main actors is frankly excellent with special mention to Billy Bob Thornton and Bridget Fonda as the ambitious librarian wife. Suspenseful and atmospheric music score by Danny Elffman, he's Raimi's usual musician and appropriate cinematography by Kivilo . Firstly was Ben Stiller hired to direct the movie with Nicholas Gage as starring but his wage overall budget and they left , then was set Sam Raimi who made a magnificent direction. He learned techniques on filming in the snowy woods from the Cohen brothers who formerly had directed ¨Fargo¨, a story with certain similarity. Rating : Very good. Better than average. It's a ¨must see¨ for Billy Bob Thornton fans and suspense genre enthusiastic.

The Fargo of the year

[Samiam3 · 7/10 · 27 December 2009]

Sam Raimi may be most at home with Horror, but his body of work in the last three decades has encompassed a variety of genres, the most intellectual of which is drama. One could argue that a Simple Plan is Raimi's smartest picture but it is not a film where we see any of his distinct auteurism. Equal credit for the film's reasonable competence goes to novelist Scott Smith, adapting his own novel for the screen.

The plot bears some close resemblance to Fargo. One could argue that A Simple Plan is a few steps ahead of the Coen Brothers. It feels far less contrived, and has a bigger heart. Fargo is cold, cynical, but definitely creative. Anyway, that is another movie

Three buddies find a plane wreck in the woods, and inside is a sack containing four million dollars. They agree to keep it hidden until they are convinced that the police are not looking for it. Sounds simple enough, but things get ugly pretty quickly.

I've never thought much for either Bill Paxton or Brigit Fonda, but A Simple Plan shows them at their best, although Billy Bob Thornton's is the most accomplished performance of the movie.

The movie is one worth seeing, it is admirable and thought provoking. There is nothing necessarily unique about it, but then again uniqueness is a rare gift for a movie to have.

A good solid thriller

[Quinoa1984 · 10/10 · 30 July 2000]

Scott B. Smith's A Simple Plan puts Sam Raimi back in my book (I forgot about him for a while after he did EVil Dead and part 2) by giving a good solid thriller that can sometimes be interpreted by some as a very dark comedy. The plot (I think already stated) has 2 brothers and a friend in a winter setting, who find a plane, a plane that can change they're lives (chiching), but the cost, is something they don't even know they are going to bear. Sometimes the characters make dumb choices, but that atually makes it entertaining. The best surprise however is Billy Bob Thornton's performance because he is always good in anything he does. Good film for Raimi to have, and for the cast also. A-

Simply brilliant

[baumer · 9/10 · 1 July 1999]

A Simple Plan is a film that had immense critical acclaim yet was in limited release. I was eagerly looking forward to this films release seeing as I am a huge Bill Paxton fan, but why wasn't this film in wide release? I was living in Toronto at the time and to find this film I had to go downtown to one very small art house theater. It wasn't at any of the bigger Silver City's. And that is a disappointment. Because this film is amazing. In a way ( I can't believe I'm saying this ) this film reminds me a bit of Star Wars. Only in the sense that I think there is enough intrigue and well developed characters that you could have made a trilogy and prequels out of this. Jacob could have a whole movie made about him. The characters are that rich.

The film starts off with two brothers named Hank and Jacob ( Paxton and Thorton ) and a friend named Lou( Brent Briscoe ) chasing their dog into the forest. As they get deep into the woods, they stumble onto a downed plane. It is here they find the money, the buried treasure to the tune of about 4 million dollars. At first they are talking about how rich they are and what they are going to do with the money. But it is then that Hank says that maybe they should wait a while to see if anyone comes looking for the money before they start to spend it. After all, the plane is snow covered so maybe it has been here for a while so by the end of the winter if no one comes for it, they will keep it. The other two are adamantly against that logic. " This is the American dream, " one of them says. " You work for the American dream, you don't steal it." Hank replies. Then of course all hell is about to break loose.

Suddenly people that lead their lives without much money are consumed with greed and desperation. Hank's wife Sarah, in a great performance by Bridget Fonda, says that she is tired of having to eat dessert at home when they go out for dinner. She wants to provide a nest egg for their soon to be child. Lou owes money to everybody and wants his share of the money now. Jacob wants to fix up his dads farm. The insatiable need for money is driving everyone apart. It is from here that the plot thickens and it is like the layers of an onion. Every time you peel one layer back, there is another layer to deal with, until there is nothing left. And then what happens?

This film works because it has a terrific story but it also works because of the people involved with it. I will first mention Raimi, the man responsible for directing this tangled web. He masterfully strokes every shot perfectly. He gets the feel for a small, cold winter town and he actually makes you shiver inspite of yourself. If anyone is a true horror fan they would have known that Raimi had a ( hidden ) genius. His Evil Dead films ( especially the first one ) really showed that he could direct a tight film and he did a masterful job of scaring you. And that is not easy. There are not many truly scary films out there and Evil Dead is one of them. Here he finally gets his due.

The second person I want to mention is the cinematographer. This is Alar Kivilo's first real foray into film. He has worked mostly in TV and for this to be as well photographed as it is, is a true credit to his ability. Filming in the snow adds many challenges to this aspect of film and he conquers it beautifully. There is one scene where there are a few men heading into the woods to find the plane and all we see is their footprints. This scene reminded me of a similar one in Lawrence Of Arabia. It is executed perfectly and it conveys the feeling of what the scene is supposed to represent.

As for the actors involved, as I said, I am a huge Paxton fan, just as anyone is if you like his portrayal of Chet and Hudson. And he is very good in this film. He has to play the level headed one of everyone involved and he comes across as the torn voice of reason here. But as much as I thought he was excellent in this flick, I have to say that Billy Bob Thorton blew me away. You can feel his pain. You can sense his split loyalty--friendship and brotherhood. Everything that we are supposed to see in him, we do. He really should have won a best supporting actor this year but he had the deck stacked against him seeing that he already has a statue and James Coburn, the veteran that he is, has none. Go figure. Too many politics in the academy, but anyway....

This film examines so many human issues and it asks us to make our own decisions along the way. And the sad reality is maybe we wouldn't make some of the same decisions, but maybe we would have made worse ones as well. It is a tough movie to examine, and that is what ultimately makes it brilliant.

**** Just on a side note here, I just find it amazing how the six degrees of separation works here. Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thorton have known each other for years and they worked together on a similar character study in One False Move. They also briefly had screen time together in Tombstone. ( If you can't figure out who Thornton is in that film, try thinking of Johnny Tyler. He was about 100 pounds heavier than what he is now. ) Raimi and Paxton met on the set of Indian Summer. Raimi had a small role as Stick. So it is kind of nice to see loyalty does perhaps still exist in Hollywood. And I am really glad they met and then hooked up for this project. This is a true definition of a great film.

When Bad Things Happen to Idiots

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 30 November 2010]

I don't normally get squeamish about film, but this one was hard for me to watch. I knew pretty much what was going to happen. It just hurt to watch it. The plot begins with a couple of local yokels and a brother and friend, coming upon a crashed plan in the snow and finding millions of dollars. I live in rural Minnesota and that place looked like a hundred I've seen. Of course, they had that moment of "should we turn this in?" or "Should we keep it for ourselves." One look at two of these guys and there is no question which direction it's going to go. The key element is that the "sensible" one sets up a scheme by which they can put off spending the money and all be rich...at a future time. We all know what's coming. The movie is about the relationship among these three and what happens to them as a result of their simple plan. There's that old saying, "Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead," or something like that. How this movie plays out is satisfying but so hurtful to watch. In essence, we kind of like these guys. They each have their own issues, for some just plain stupidity. I gritted my teeth and watched, but I can't get it out of my thoughts.

Superb, flawless examination of greed (spoilers inside)

[Arkaan · 10/10 · 5 September 1999]

"You work for the American dream, you don't steal it" Bill Paxton says in the film, and that line rings true until the very end. The plot is simple. Three men find 4.4 million dollars, and decide to keep it. From than on, they remain tied to each other in a crime, yet they see it as "finding lost treasure". As soon as Jacob and Hank kill Stevenson, they are in even deeper.

We (the audience) is asked to accept the fact that these decent people are breaking the law, and sympathize with them. It leads us through plot twists that expand on the film's haunting qualities.

Sam Raimi's direction is incredible, as is Scott Smith's script. I have read the novel, and some things were changed. However, the changes were necessary as some parts of the novel weren't cinematic. The cinematography and score also lend themselves very well.

The performances are all incredible. Billy Bob Thorton should have won the oscar for his thoughtful turn as Jacob, the dumber brother who realizes first that they've opened a Pandora's Box. " I wish someone else found that money". When he said that, it's not just the loss of the money that makes him say that, it's the loss of his soul. He is the first to realize that this will end in tragedy. Bridget Fonda is remarkable in her Lady Macbeth-type role. She's chilling and convincing as the wife who at firsts thinks the money should be burned, than changes her mind. Bill Paxton plays the 'everyman' who is the smarter of the three men who find the money. He is incredible, and holds this film together.

What makes this movie work is that it forces us to ask ourselves questions about our morality. Not everyone will like the ending. I think it is perfect.

Number 2 on my top ten of 1998

A Great Movie...

[MovieAddict2016 · 23 January 2004]

"If you found four million dollars, would you keep it or turn it in?" a character asks his wife in "A Simple Plan," which documents the events of two men who choose to do what everyone always says they wouldn't do but probably really would if they were given the chance. What chance? A chance to take four million bucks, without anyone knowing who took it, or even that it was taken at all. It's just a simple plan for a simple event. But simple plans can be disastrous, as "A Simple Plan" tells us, in which two brothers named Hank (Bill Paxton) and Jacob (Billy Bob Thornton) discover a duffel bag full of $4,400,000 in a crashed plane sitting out in the middle of an abandoned nature preserve. Do they turn it in? Keep it? In a moment of weakness, they choose to do the latter. Hank's wife, Sarah (Bridget Fonda), is supportive of their decision. She even tells Hank to return some of the money to the plane, to cover their tracks. When Hank does this, it results in the death of a nosy neighbor on a snowmobile. Soon this tragic chain of events slides into even more murder and cover ups as one of Jacob's close friends and his wife die, in short, because of Hank and his brother. The town Chief of Police, Carl, suspects that something fishy is going on. And when an FBI agent comes to town searching for the plane, Hank has to face the facts that the man may not be from the FBI, but instead might be one of two brothers whose ransom money was lost in the plane crash. The film reminds me of the Coen Brothers' amazing "Fargo" in many different ways. Most noticeable is the landscape, as well as the quirkiness of the film that lends a realistic tone to it. Also is the spiraling downfall of the characters -- the events trigger one tragic circumstance after another, eventually turning into murder and double-crossing and greed. Billy Bob Thornton turns in another great performance here as Jacob, the lonely guy who has never kissed a girl but fondly remembers the day that he held hands with a high school babe. His plan is to buy back the family farm that his father once maintained. But underneath Jacob's exterior is a heart with little armor. "I feel evil," he says to Hank after lying to the police about the death of his friend. Hank, played by Bill Paxton, is the prime example of how greed can corrupt a man. When they find the money, it is Hank's firm belief to turn in the cash and report the plane to the police. He is convinced to keep the cash, since it's probably dirty drug money. Soon he is the man who is interested in the money more than anyone else. And by the very end of the film, we realize that sometimes people do the worst things for something they can never even have. Paxton is one of our greatest actors, his credits ranging back to the days of "The Terminator" (1984) and "Aliens" (1986). He's in most of James Cameron's films, including those two mentioned before and "Titanic" and "Ghosts of the Abyss." He's not exactly one of mainstream Hollywood's brightest stars, but here he proves that he can turn in a better performance than some of the highest paid actors (*cough*, Tom Cruise, *cough*) in cinema history. The last fifteen minutes of "A Simple Plan" are tense, exciting and unnerving. This is the type of movie where the hero knows the bad guy is next to him, leading him towards his own death, but can't say anything because then everyone will know that he committed a crime himself. He has to pretend that he doesn't know the bad guy is a bad guy. He has to pretend that everything is all right, even when he's being led into a trap. And when the so-called FBI agent, Hank, Carl and Jacob split up in the woods to search for the plane, I primed myself for what was to come. Is this the type of movie where the hero dies or lives? I won't ruin the surprise. But I think the ending is entirely more meaningful than it could have been if Sam Raimi, the director, had chosen a different route. This is one of the best films of the past decade, and certainly one of the most important. 4.5/5 stars. - John Ulmer

"I Was A Happy Man!"...

[azathothpwiggins · 21 October 2019]

As its ironic title suggests, A SIMPLE PLAN is anything but "simple".

An average man named Hank (Bill Paxton), his dimwitted brother, Jacob (Billy Bob Thornton), and his even dimmer-witted friend, Lou (Brent Briscoe) happen upon a fortune in what they believe to be ill-gotten gains. In spite of Hank's initial objections, the trio decides that they can keep it as long as they "stick together".

Well, let's just say that their plan runs into some unforeseen circumstances that could be the undoing of them all. When Hank's wife, Sarah (Bridget Fonda) gets involved, even her innocent demeanor is affected in unexpected ways.

Director Sam Raimi uses his finely-tuned horror sensibilities to pack this modern fable with paranoia, macabre sequences, ominous signs, and an ever darkening atmosphere. Watching Hank and his cohorts transform into what they would never have believed they could become, is frightening. A rich, sinister vein of black humor also runs through the entire film, inciting some uncomfortable laughs.

Watch for Gary Cole in a near-cameo role as the mysterious Baxter.

A masterful study of the power and price of greed...

Highly Underrated !!! Guys wake up and Please see this movie and Vote , deserves a Place in IMDb Top 250

[asad-comp · 10/10 · 7 September 2009]

A simple plan,you may compare it with shawshank redemption and believe me Frank darabont won't mind it.Because this ain't a suspense thriller but with all the things open in the story you will love it.Sometime you will be so involved in the movie that you want to give some advice to the Bill Paxton ,and yes you must not forget about the Academy award nominee performance by the Billy Bob Thornton,the real innocence you can see in him.I don't know what else people were expecting from this movie????? i am curious to know this ! and also i would love to see this movie in IMDb top 250 , I am a movie buff and guys as Baz Luhrmann asked people to trust him on sunscreen i am asking you to trust me on " A simple plan " it worths a rent of 100 $ ,i believe is one of the best of movie that i had ever seen,Best Screenplay , Superb story , Good performances,As a whole i will rate it as 10/10 .

Not A Message To Be Dismissed

[ccthemovieman-1 · 7/10 · 5 August 2006]

A good beginning gets your attention quickly in this film, but then a bit too talky for a long spell in the middle before momentum is regained. The finale is very interesting.

The story is a good illustration of what greed can do to people, and that crime does not pay. As I was watching it, I thought it was okay film but apparently was better than that because it stayed with me for a while. It's not a film you dismiss right away.

I've never been a big fan of Bill Paxton as an actor, maybe because of his stupid voice. However, I thought he did a fine job in "A Simple Plan." Billy Bob Thornton plays another interesting role, nothing new in that regard and Bridget Fonda is about as unglamorous as you'll ever see her.

This is one of those movies that is better in retrospect and I would gladly watch it again now that it's been awhile since I've seen it.

What a nightmare...

[billybrown41 · 28 June 2001]

I thought that I was desensitized. Having seen so many movies, I was actually ignorant enough to think that nothing could shock or disturb me anymore. Boy, was I ever wrong. Horror is my favorite genre and while this isn't a "horror" flick it is still pretty damn horrifying. Two things drew me to this movie. Billy Bob Thornton was the first. I have followed his career steadily since he gained recognition with Sling Blade and the man has not let me down. Second reason, Sam Raimi. He is an icon among horror film buffs and up and coming film students. The Evil Dead trilogy showcased his talents with the brilliant camera work and his somewhat warped sense of vision.

A Simple Plan tells the story of three regular guys who find a suitcase full of money in a downed airplane. Assuming the money is drug money, they figure that no one will notice if they keep it. The "plan" does start off simple. Hank (Bill Paxton), his brother Jacob (Billy Bob), and Jacob's idiot, loser, drunk friend Lou (Brent Briscoe) decide that to hang on to the money for six months. If it's not missed by Spring, they will split the cash between them and go their seperate ways. Things seem fine at first, with Hank as the natural leader, but soon all goes to hell once greed sets in and morals start to fly out the window. It's all down hill from here.

While the plot may be simple, what really makes this thing work is the characters. All three of the leads are totally believable in their roles. Hank could be easily be a friend of yours, Jacob could be the guy behind you in the checkout line at the grocery store, and Lou could be the town drunk you see walking on the side of the road.

This is a character movie. Simple story, complex characters and their reaction to a seemingly easy situation. Billy Bob Thornton became so devoted to playing his role, he shed 30lbs to play Jacob. You can tell that a lot of the pain you see in Jacob's eyes is not just acting. The actor has truly felt this guy's pain. Playing this role was NOT easy on the guy and (in my opinion) he should have gotten that Oscar.

Bill Paxton is wonderful as Hank. He has the look and feel of that guy (every town in America has at least one) who had so much potential, but never left his home town. He is the brains and the moral center of the three.

Brent Briscoe (Scooter Hodges from "Sling Blade") plays the part of Lou. Lou is the best friend of Jacob and the town drunk. Although many would argue that it is Jacob's fault, much of the trouble that comes their way is brought on by Lou's ignorance. He is a thoroughly annoying and disgusting character and Briscoe did a fine job with the part considering how likeable he was in Sling Blade.

I'm not going to give away any more of what happens. Earlier I described this movie as horrifying. It is. Why? The characters are all people we could actually know. No, this isn't a horror flick, but decent, ordinary people can turn into monsters at the drop of a hat. Disregard Leonard Maltin's review (with all do respect) where he says that the "transformation of the characters simply does not ring true." It does and I've seen it happen. The movie is, in no way, as harsh and cold as the book but the point is still made. 9/10

Hollow film experience

[Maciste_Brother · 1/10 · 1 July 2004]

A SIMPLE PLAN is one of the most overrated films of all time. The fact that some actually view this film as a serious piece of film-making is truly amazing. Everything about this film is artificial: the characters, the acting, the plot, etc. Usually, genre films can get away with such an artificial feel because they mostly deal with things that don't necessarily exist in real life (zombies, monsters, deformed superheroes, etc) but when you transpose the same techniques used in genre films and apply them to actual human beings living in reality, well, the thing becomes forced and artificial. And this is what the folks responsible for this film, whom have experience in making mostly genre films, have done here. I didn't believe this story for one second throughout the entire film. The characters were amazingly stupid. The "McGuffin" story was uninspired and filled with plot-holes so big that you can fly a jumbo jet through them. And the acting, except for BBT, was unconvincing, certainly Paxton and Fonda playing a couple. Talk about zero chemistry.

But what's really annoying about A SIMPLE PLAN is that it's supposed to be a tragedy of sorts and yet the filmmakers obviously didn't want to make the film too gloomy and depressing as to turn off most of the audience. The end product is saddled with a conflicting and contradicting style/tone. It plays like a harmless & bland TV movie, and yet it strives to be John Sayles or Terence Mallick kind of film with its monolithic seriousness.

There's only one word to describe A SIMPLE PLAN: labored.

Sam Raimi's surprise gem

[AdrenalinDragon · 9/10 · 24 February 2021]

Pretty awesome film by Sam Raimi that is fairly different from the type of movie he usually does. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this, having never heard of it until recently. The performances of Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton were excellent and the film gives these characters moral dilemmas and decisions that are both rational and irrational. There's a Fargo-esque quality to it that shines and the pacing is just right if you ask me. By the end, there are huge consequences. For a straight-up Crime Thriller, this is a film more people need to see.

8.5/10

Fargo II

[gavin6942 · 8/10 · 26 February 2015]

When three blue collar acquaintances in Minnesota come across millions of dollars in lost cash they make a plan to keep their find from the authorities but find complications and mistrust weaving its way into their plan.

Sam Raimi saw "A Simple Plan" as an opportunity to direct a character-driven story that differed from his earlier works, which were highly stylized or dependent on intricate camera movements. This plan seems to have worked. All the markings of a Raimi film are gone, and it helped him move beyond being the "Evil Dead" guy.

Filming took place in Ashland, Wisconsin, where most of the film's exterior shots, and the road and woods near where the characters find the plane, were shot. As a Wisconsin native, this makes me happy and gives the film a slightly more personal touch. Granted, Ashland is far off the beaten path, but still part of the great state.

Billy Bob Thornton is endearing, sort of a mentally disabled Barney Fife. His being recognized by critics is no surprise, as this is easily his best role (perhaps even more than "Sling Blade"). Fewer people have commented on Bridget Fonda, but they should. She is the grounding of the film, and this is a great departure for those who know her from such things as "Jackie Brown".

What NOT to do if you find millions of dollars

[adamscastlevania2 · 6/10 · 17 February 2015]

(59%) A largely paint by numbers morality tale in a similar shape to the much better Fargo, featuring a good central performance from Bill Paxton and more than decent support backing him up. The premise is one of such dramatic substance and fuel for "What would you do?" type debate that even a lousy writer such as Skip Woods, or Eli Roth could squeeze at least some intrigue out. Where this does come off the rails a bit revolve around the character's decisions being clearly wrong-footed from the start. And even though the characters featured are supposed to be dimwitted, it still makes for a film that doesn't really push the premise to any real limit because the characters couldn't make more of a hash of things even if they tried. This is still an interesting, well made film, and it's worth a look, but it just doesn't quite make it as a true future classic.

but the problem is that this plan doesn't go exactly as it was planned

[dbdumonteil · 29 January 2004]

Spoilers, spoilers, spoilers...

The first thing that drew my attention about "a simple plan" (1998) was the director's name: Sam Raimi, the director of a horror movie which became a cult-movie: "Evil Dead" (1981). With "a simple plan", it is to believe that he decided not to stay confined to the horror movie but to try his hand at other cinema kinds. He chose wisely. We can sum up this movie, often compared with "Fargo" (1996) a movie by the Coen brothers by this sentence: how an important amount of money can put an end to a friendship.

Sam Raimi is a brilliant detective movie with allusion to Hitchcock: the ravens evoke the ones of "the birds". Moreover, one of them hurts Bill Paxton at the forehead, exactly like Tippi Hendren. There's another reference at Hitchcock: the body of the dead pilot may evoke the stuffed old woman in "Psycho".

The success of "a simple plan" mainly rests on the actors who are cleverly directed: Bill Paxton, at first sight appears as the most intelligent gut in the trio (he is graduated from university). However, I felt that Sam Raimi tried to make his weaknesses appear like for instance his anguished side: when things don't go as they were planned, he tries with difficulty to keep his head and to make things as right as possible. But Paxton has also an easily influenced side. On that subject, Bridget Fonda is probably the most interesting character of all the film. I think Raimi, during the movie makes us guess that she wants to keep the money for herself and her husband "Hank". Nevertheless, we could say that she's the one who makes the plot progress and create the situations. She's the one that gives her husband the information about the plane crash and above all she's the one who advises him about the decisions to make. And Paxton obeys her almost blindly. So, we can interpret one the last sequences when Paxton throws all the money into the fire like this: he managed to free from his wife's influence.

But according to me, the actor that dominates the cast is arguably Billy Bob Thornton. Of course, he didn't act only in good movies. His previous movie was "Armageddon" (1998) but when he's directed by a stern film-maker as Sam Raimi, the result is conclusive. He's excellent and sometimes very moving in his role of narrow-minded and naive man.

There's also an outstanding emphasizing of the landscapes which confer to the movie a certain poetry and especially of the snow. Indeed, it can be useful to confuse the issue: "But look! It's going to snow soon!" says Paxton to Fonda after this one put a part of the money back into the plane.

This movie is ultimately a success mainly thanks to its actors. Highly recommended.

How Much More Can Go Wrong?

[jaketpajor · 7/10 · 20 May 2021]

I just recently rewatched Sling Blade and it made me want to dive in the older Billy Bob movies. This was the first on my list. I love Bill Paxton and was excited to see the two of them share the screen. The story seems so simple at first but things get very complicated and intense before long. Billy Bob and his drinking buddy almost immediately complicate Paxton's plans for the millions of dollars they find in the woods. As they continue to try and hold the plan together, desperation, jealousy, anger and resentment all boil over making it harder and harder for the three men to hold to their word.

The climactic scene when Paxton and Thornton attempt to blackmail their friend was one of the best modern "western shootout" moments in a movie I've seen. The corrupting influence of money leaves Bill Paxton with numerous murders on his hands and no money. It's up there with No Country for Old Men and Hell or High Water as one of the better "westerns" of recent memory. 7/10.