A Simple Plan Blu-ray Review: You Work for the American Dream. You Don’t Steal It.

A Simple Plan was directed by Sam Raimi and written by Scott B. Smith from his novel of the same name. It is an edge-of-your-seat thriller involving a fascinating quartet of the sweetest sons-a-bitches you’re likely to run into on the silver screen.

Hank (Bill Paxton) is an accountant at a small-town feed mill. His wife, Sarah (Bridget Fonda), a local librarian, is pregnant with their first child and looks to be due any day now. Hank’s brother, Jacob (Billy Bob Thornton) is a bit slow but also deceptively in tune with his feelings and those around him. Jacob’s best friend, Lou (Brent Briscoe) is tolerated by Hank, but if Hank had his rathers, Lou would not be in the picture. Both Jacob and Lou are smart-asses who like to cut loose with a few too many beers at the end of the day (starting around noon). They are also both rural dumb and modern smart at the same time. They have their bad ideas, their good ideas, and they are somehow able to get Hank to go along with just about any plan, simple or complex.

One cold day with snow on everything, the brothers Hank and Jacob plan to drive to the cemetery on the edge of town to lay flowers at their parents’ graves. To Hank’s chagrin, Jacob brings Lou along in the truck for company. On the way home, a fox escapes a nearby chicken coop complete with bloody chicken deep in its bloody jaws. The fox runs across the road in front of Jabob and the boys placing them in a ditch with the truck’s engine thoroughly smashed up against a tree. Jacob’s dog gets free from the back of the truck and chases the fox far into the woods. Nobody wants to stay with the cold truck, so the three men begin the long trek through the snow after the dog.

The dog leads the three men to a small, snow-covered, crashed, plane hidden in the woods. Inside the plane are a dead pilot and a duffel bag containing $4.4 million. Hank, who has a good job, a wife with a good job, and a baby on the way, instantly wants to report the missing money to the authorities. Jacob and Lou, though, not only think they should keep the money, it only takes the tiniest bit of arm-twisting to get Hank on board. Sarah is 100% against keeping the money – that would be stealing for certain – until she sees the money. Sarah is now not only on board, she has some of the most devious plans to keep the money safe.

Characterization is the key to this noir thriller. Once the simple premise is set up (four “friends” find $4.4 million), everything that happens next is not because of the situation but personality. Hank doesn’t trust Jacob or Lou. Jacob and Lou sort of trust Hank but think he is condescending and better-than-thou. Also, the plan is for Hank to keep the money until spring when the plane will be found in the melting snow and they can see if anybody mentions the money. But Jacob and Lou have dreams for that money now, and Lou has a wife who shouldn’t know about the money, but certainly does. And sweet, little, ready-to-bust Sarah may be the most conniving of them all. She also has far too many ideas concerning their situation, and the more ideas, the more chances for something to go wrong.

And everything does go wrong. Beautifully wrong. All four main actors are at the top of their game here. Bill Paxton is smart but mildly smarmy. You can see in his eyes that he could turn and bite you. Bridget Fonda has the bright smile right underneath the wiley smile. Billy Bob Thornton earns his Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He comes off as just sort of dumb because of his upbringing and friends, but he is also just sort of smart because of his brother and parents. It is an interesting tightrope to watch him walk. But Brent Briscoe as Lou is the fire that keeps everything in the movie burning. He is the catalyst for nearly every bad turn though his heart is always in the right place. Lou has lots of plans, simple and otherwise. A Simple Plan is a perfectly crafted little gem of a thriller. Highly recommended.

Bonus Features:

• Commentary by Glenn Kenny and Farran Smith Nehme
• Commentary by Patrizia von Brandenstein and Justin Beahm
• Of Ice and Men with Alar Kivilo – Cinematographer Alar Kivilo looks back on the making of A Simple Plan in this interview, recorded for Arrow Video in 2024.
• Standing Her Ground with Becky Ann Baker – Becky Ann Baker remembers playing the role of Nancy Chambers in this interview, recorded for Arrow Video in 2024.
• Dead of Winter with Chelcie Ross – Chelcie Ross remembers playing the role of Sheriff Carl Jenkins in this interview, filmed for Arrow Video in 2024.
• On-Set Interviews – Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, Bridget Fonda, Sam Raimi, James J. Jacks.
• Behind the Scenes – mostly consists of back of set production videos in which the crew does what a crew does.
• Theatrical Trailer