Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Masterful thriller about greed has violence, language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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A Simple Plan
What's the Story?
In A SIMPLE PLAN, Hank (Bill Paxton) works at a feed store in rural Minnesota while his librarian wife Sarah (Bridget Fonda) is about to have a baby; they're just getting by, but are happy. Hank's uneducated brother Jacob (Billy Bob Thornton) comes over one morning to visit their parents' graves. Jacob brings the low-class, beer-drinking Lou (Brent Briscoe). Driving home, Jacob's dog runs off into the snowy woods, and the trio find a crashed airplane, the pilot dead, and a huge bag of money -- $4.4 million -- in the back. They decide to keep it, but agree that they'll wait until spring to see if anyone comes looking for it. Before long tensions arise, leading to arguing and eventually murder.
Is It Any Good?
Sam Raimi's neo-noir masterpiece is a story of greed and nervous waiting and decaying civility; it brilliantly balances gut-clenching suspense and dynamic violence with nuanced, engaging characters. Expertly adapted by Scott B. Smith from his own debut novel, A Simple Plan reveals a new maturity in director Raimi, best known for his frenzied Evil Dead cult horror movies and his high-spirited hit Spider-Man movies. The movie's use of snow and intertwining, spiderweb-like tree branches visually establishes a sense of entrapment, and images of Hank and Sarah's happy home life slowly taken over by the money's corrupting power create strong drama.
The characters are also key, from Paxton's college-educated Hank, who likes to take charge, to Thornton's slow-witted Jacob, who occasionally surprises with demonstrations of his own kind of inner wisdom (Thornton received an Oscar nomination). Fonda rises above the usual third-wheel wife character with Sarah's own whip-smart cleverness; she's almost a femme fatale. Even Briscoe's Lou avoids a backwoods hillbilly stereotype, instead finding his inner pain and defense mechanisms. Raimi pulls all these elements together into a movie that's strongly visual as well as character-driven, and constantly gripping as well as frequently touching. A Simple Plan easily ranks among the greatest film noirs of all time.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about A Simple Plan's depiction of violence. How did it make you feel? How did the filmmakers achieve this? Were the scenes shocking or thrilling?
How is drinking portrayed? Is it glamorized? Are there consequences for drinking?
What is the nature of greed? Why is it so powerful, and why does it often have such negative results?
What would you have done if you found the money?
How does the movie compare to the original novel?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : December 11, 1998
- Cast : Bill Paxton , Bridget Fonda , Billy Bob Thornton
- Director : Sam Raimi
- Studio : Paramount
- Genre : Thriller
- Run time : 121 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : violence and language
- Last updated : July 3, 2022
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