Review - A Simple Plan

I watched this movie again last night. Wow.

I'm not a big fan of Bill Paxton. I think my first experience with him was the weasely car salesman in True Lies. However, he won me over in this movie. His ability to change expressions is very convincing. For example, there is a point in the movie where he and his brother try to trick a friend. His brother decides that he can't do it, and starts to make fun of his brother to the friend's amusement. The look on Bill's face when he realizes what his brother is doing toward the end of the scene is fantastic--I had to rewind a couple of times to appreciate the exact second his mind changed.

I have never seen a bad Billy Bob Thornton movie. This is typical of the offbeat, down-to-earth character he likes to play. Here, he is slightly underdeveloped mentally--he can drive a truck, but he can't hold down a job and has never kissed a girl. The long stringy hair, Buddy Holly glasses and extra-yellow teeth complete the package. His ability to naturally stumble on his own words, to act like he truly doesn't grasp a situation, to show what he feels as though he were an 8-yr-old child is very convincing.

The rest of the cast's performances are lackluster, but they hold their parts well. Essentially there are three main characters, two supporting characters, one important bit part and that's it, so two strong actors is all it takes to keep it going.

There is one scene that is a little unbelievable (near the end, you'll understand when you see it), and there are probably more murders than 4.4 million would generate, but overall it's a very good movie.

Go rent it.