It seems to be a staple of the Coen
Brothers that the expectations of the audience can never be
fulfilled. Instead, they must give the audience something even more
interesting. In the case of The Big Lebowski this was used
for great comedic effect, because no two characters could seem to
agree on just what movie they were in. In Blood Simple
however, it's used to greatly disorient the audience; creating
discomfort as we're genuinely unsure just what in the Hell is about
to happen.
The whole film revolves around 4
characters: Julian Marty (Dan Hedaya), the jealous husband, Abby
(Frances McDormand), his wife, Ray (John Getz), her lover, and Visser
(M. Emmet Walsh), the private-investigator-turned-assassin who is
hired by Marty. The relationships seem to indicate to the viewer
that the plot will mostly revolve around the first three, with Visser
as a second-banana to Marty. To reinforce this, Visser is presented
to us initially as a drunken baffoon. So, imagine our surprise when
Visser reveals himself to be the true villain, easily killing Marty.
I had trouble understanding Visser's
motivation. He had been hired by Marty to kill Abby and Ray, and
instead, doctored photos to make it appear that he had, then killed
Marty after being paid. As far as I can tell, he killed Marty simply
because he decided that taking Marty's money and framing Abby was
easier than dealing with Abby and Ray's bodies. Marty had made it
clear that he would retaliate if Visser attempted to trick him.
However, a series of miscalculations requires Visser to attempt to
kill the couple anyway to retrieve some pieces of evidence he left
behind.
This type of thinking actually makes
Visser a much scarier threat than Marty. While Marty was motivated
by rage, Visser thinks so little of human lives that he'd happily end
them simply for momentary gain, or because they pose an inconvenience
to him. Furthermore, over the course of the movie no single
character ever has a full understanding of what has happened.
However, Visser is clearly the closest, generally being aware of who
his targets are and why, while they both seem to believe that Marty
has returned from the grave to haunt them.
The decision to have characters act on
such incomplete information is a choice that few filmmakers make,
since scripting out appropriate actions for each character is more
difficult. But it does create a good experience for the viewer, with
a storyline that can be watched more than once and still enjoyed.
The most obvious example of this is that Ray ends up disposing of
Marty's body (...while Marty is still just barely alive), thinking
that Abby shot her husband, while Abby continues to be unaware for
some time that Marty is even dead. This puts them into conflict as
they interpret each others' statements and actions differently. The
final line of the movie, while revealing nothing new to the viewer,
is a shocking swerve to the final surviving character. Abby finds
out that the man hunting her wasn't even Marty, but a complete
stranger (Visser), whose motives she didn't even know, just as she
finishes him off.
I definitely recommend this movie.
It's bloody, and down-to-earth in a way that makes many of the events
feel extremely real. It's harsh, brutal, and amazing.
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