‘A Simple Plan’: Sam Raimi’s Underrated Crime Thriller [Video]
Tyler Doupe'
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Welcome to The Overlooked Motel, a place where under-seen and unappreciated films are given their moment in the spotlight. I hope you enjoy your stay here and find the accommodations to be suitable. Now, please take a seat and make yourself comfortable. I have some misbehaving guests to ‘correct.’
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Bill Paxton was a cinematic treasure. His impressive filmography includes so many iconic selections, many of which have received universal acclaim and been celebrated by movie lovers and critics alike. Today’s selection is a lesser-known Paxton vehicle that won over critics upon release but inexplicably bombed at the box office. A Simple Plan sees the late actor teaming up with celebrated thespians Billy Bob Thornton, Bridget Fonda, and Brent Briscoe. The picture serves as a gritty, unnerving crime thriller that is suspenseful from start to finish. Not to mention it’s directed by none other than Sam Raimi. How the picture remains under-seen with a pedigree like that is a mystery to me. But I am nonetheless delighted to be celebrating it here.
Near the start of the film, we see brothers Hank (Paxton) and Jacob (Thornton) driving along the snowy roads of their rural hamlet with Jacob’s drinking buddy, Lou (Briscoe), in tow. The trio is making a yearly trek to Jacob and Hank’s father’s gravesite. As they head back home, an ominous warning comes in the form of a literal fox in the henhouse. The sly creature exits the structure with a tasty treat and proceeds to run out in front of Jacob’s truck, forcing the trio off the road. That subtle flourish foreshadows the unspeakable horrors to come and directly leads the three men to the discovery of an abandoned plane with a dead pilot in the cockpit and an obscene amount of cash in the cargo area. The unforeseen discovery will soon change the lives of all three men in ways none of them could have ever imagined.
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A Simple Plan features a pretty simplistic message about the evils of greed and the destructive power it holds over us. But, that premise is used to tremendous effect here. The moment Hank, Lou, and Jacob discover the crashed plane and the unclaimed cash, their lives begin to fall apart. And the more they attempt to conceal their ill-begotten gains, the worse their lot in life becomes.
Although none of the characters is thriving financially before they come upon the sudden windfall, they are all reasonably happy in spite of that. They each assume that a cash infusion will fix all of their problems but, of course, it has the exact opposite effect. Raimi teases out that realization, torturing the viewer as the men, along with Hank’s wife Sarah (Bridget Fonda), get deeper and deeper into their deception. By the time the picture concludes, those who make it out of the ordeal find that their lives are forever changed and long for the simplicity of the meager existence they previously took for granted.
Although it may not be an outright horror picture, Raimi brings his signature style to A Simple Plan and imbues it with a relentless intensity, a fair bit of visceral imagery, and a macabre sensibility that often proves quite chilling. The director makes use of an eerie score by Danny Elfman and a persistent and unshakable sense of paranoia to keep the viewer in a perpetual state of panic throughout. Each narrowly averted disaster only serves to lead to yet another crisis.
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Raimi mines the source material for maximum effect. But Scott B. Smith’s contributions are also of paramount importance and shouldn’t be undersold. The author, who also penned the novel The Ruins (and its film adaptation), crafts a scenario that works just as well as a gritty crime thriller as it does a cautionary tale about the evils of greed. Smith demonstrates a keen understanding of adapting the essence of his novel for the screen while trimming any extraneous elements that might slow down the narrative.
Countless films serve as a cautionary tale on the evils of greed. But A Simple Plan stands out as one of the most effective executions of that premise. If you haven’t yet experienced this oft-overlooked crime thriller, I’ve got you. The picture is streaming via Showtime as of the publication of this post. And you can also find the flick available for purchase on physical media.
That’s all for this installment of The Overlooked Motel. If you’d like to chat more about under-seen and underrated films, feel free to hit me up with your thoughts on Twitter, Threads, or Instagram.
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