Blood Simple (1984)

Set in Texas, a bartender (John Getz) is having an affair with the wife (Frances McDormand) of his boss (Dan Hedaya). When the boss finds out, he hires a private detective (M. Emmet Walsh) to kill them. Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen in their directorial debut. When I first saw BLOOD SIMPLE in its original release in 1984, I found it fresh and original. 40 years later, while I still like it, I'm not as enthusiastic. Today, it comes across as slow and self conscious and two performances don't hold up well. As the not too bright bartender, John Getz is too nondescript to make his character interesting and with M. Emmet Walsh (whose performance was highly praised), I'm too conscious that he's giving a performance, that he's acting. Fortunately, the performances of McDormand and Hedaya hold up beautifully. Visually, cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld's (who would later turn to directing) stylish imagery is as good as it ever was. In spite of its flaws, it's still a compelling piece of film making. With Samm Art Williams and Deborah Neumann.