It stars Bill Paxton as Hank Mitchell, upstanding, decent citizen; Billy Bob Thornton as his slow but good-hearted brother Jacob, and Bridget Fonda as Paxton's wife. Hank, Jacob, and their drunk, unemployed friend Lou stumble upon a crashed plane in the snowy woods; upon investigating, they find $4.5 million dollars that sure doesn't seem like it's got a legal reason for being there. Though Hank wants to turn it in, Jacob and Lou convince him that they should wait to see if anyone misses it, and if not, split it between the three of them. Well, if you've seen Fargo or Shallow Grave, you know the theme from here: Large amounts of money make people do bad, bad things.
Though it's got its share of humor, there's a dark feel to the film from the beginning. As in Fargo, the winter landscape only adds to the bleakness. Raimi directs it quite well, but he's less than subtle in his symbols (yeah -- we've never seen a raven signal impending doom before, Sam) and the climax is overwrought. Naturally, I'm predisposed to Bill Paxton, but he does a stunning job here, most reminiscent of his work in One False Move (also starring Billy Bob, by the way). Speaking of BBT, his acting's excellent, but his make-up job shows just how thin a line there is between everyday ugly and downright hideous. Bridget Fonda's character could have been much more intriguing had she actually let any emotion register on her face.
I really enjoyed this film, but then I'm in a dark, bleak place
myself,
and I was all too willing to believe the shift in the characters (hmmm,
seemingly sweet, kind man betrays someone he's supposed to be close to
-- why does that seem so realistic to me?). Anyways, I always like
Paxton
in indie movies, and I always like dark cynicism, so I think I would
have
liked it no matter when I saw it.
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