A Simple Plan

Sam Raimi's adaptation of Scott Smith's best selling novel actually improves on the source material, turning a first-person narrative of one man's crisis of conscience into a chilling, chilly dark night of several souls. Bill Paxton stars as a hard-working family man who, along with his brother (Academy Award nominee Billy Bob Thornton) and his brother's best buddy (Brent Briscoe), discovers a downed plane filled with cash in the snowy woods. Thus begins a web of guilt and complications, as the men's attempts to keep their ill-gotten gains result in ever-greater consequences. A Simple Plan offers an object lesson in any number of bon mots--crime doesn't pay, there's no honor among thieves, love of money is the root of all evil--but it's far from simplistic. Raimi, best known for his hyperkinetic Evil Dead films, tones down the wild visuals yet harnesses the energy into a film of superbly crafted tension. You feel the weight of every ill-advised choice and every life-threatening turning point in those surrounding moments when you consider what you would have done in their place. This thriller of genuine dread is also a thriller of genuine pathos thanks to Thornton's remarkable performance as the simple-minded brother who believes money might finally make him somebody. It's sleek, gripping, and surprisingly affecting. Recommended. (S. Renshaw)