Blood Simple is perhaps the best Coen Brothers film ever made. It isn't as technically accomplished as Old Men or even as funny as Barton Fink but given their youth, the film is an impressive piece of work. That said, fans are unlikely to appreciate the sheer zaniness of this film since it is incredible bloody, visceral, and even slight. This is a POSTMODERN. It is not meant to be seen or enjoyed as a noir or neo-noir film. The Coens are deconstructing the tropes of the genre and cleverly reversing. Instead of a woman being the victim, she is the aggressor. And the role reversals that occur here are remarkable as characters live or die or return from the dead at various points. That said, this isn't for everybody's taste.
The humor the Coens have is, decidely, an acquired taste. There is also the problem that the lack of money forced them to control themselves. Their later, even allegedly better, films are too self-indulgent, fat, and ponderous. This is not an academic film. It is smartly written, well written, and an incredibly vicious snapshot of 1980s America and even feminist work of art. The plot can't really be described since it would give away the essentials of the twists and turns. But those are the minor attractions. The major reason to see this film is to bask in its images, music, and sheer Nietzschean madness.
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