A Simple Plan (1998)

Nominated for 2 Academy Awards:

Best Supporting Actor: Billy Bob Thornton

Best Adapted Screenplay

 

I kind of knew A Simple Plan would be a very intense film, which is partly why I chose to avoid it for this long. It’s about 3 men who find a large amount of money and decide to keep it a secret. As anyone would imagine, disaster follows, and I wasn’t sure I was ready for that type of tension. And YES, it was intense, very much so, but it was also really good. I would’ve hoped for a different ending, but it didn’t take away from how captivating the film was.

Bill Paxton gives a strong performance as the lead, but there are two other actors who stand out: Billy Bob Thornton should’ve won the Oscar for playing the intellectually-challenged brother, it’s a great, unusual performance, so hard to get right, and he achieves it so well. He’s so convincing. And then there’s Bridget Fonda, who is superb as the cunning wife. I liked the screenplay too.

 

I give it: 8.5/10

IMDB LINK