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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 12, 1985)
Lunch Served 11-5 Monday thru Friday Daily Lunch Specials Under $4.00 ti\OH)6IG)ie GAPb 754 E. 13th 342-6963 Restaurant • Cafe • Bar L Plan On A Track | Attack This Weekend! | UO Ducks vs UCLA Bruins Men's Track Meet Saturday y April 13 First field event 12:30 First track event 2:00 Hayward Field Student tickets $1.25 'Blood Simple' clever tale Blood-simple (American slang, first us ed by Dashiell Hammett) 1. state of fear and confusion that follows the commission of murder; “He’s gone blood simple.” “Blood Simple” (first feature by Minneapolis film makers Joel and Ethan Coen) 1. Gripp ing invitation to grisly suspense and wickedly inven ■ tive plotting in form of modern film noir. 2. Stylish, self assured directoral debut rooted in classic Hollywood thrillers and the American detective fic tion tradition, yet as visually inventive and Original as the best of those-classics; “Have .you seen ,‘Blood Simple’? It's the best .American film of the year tp date.” , . This is high praise for a low budget effort like this, but it is oh so richly deserved. Made in Texas for just more than $1 million, Messrs; Coen and Coen put such Hollywood pastiches as “Body Heat” to shame With their riveting tale of deceit, corruption and murder, “Blood Simple” is more than simply a homage to great noir thrillers of the ’40s and ’50s. This is an effective mix ture of the sleazy tales of James Cain with the amorality of Dashiell Hammet’s detectives and characters, told with the flair and brutal intensity of “Kiss Me Deadly” or “The Big Heat.” The plot is too good to give away, but the premise should be sufficient. We open up in the back of a car going down the highway, the occasional headlight flashing into the camera. Two characters, Ray (John Getz) and Abby (Frances McDormand) are in the front. Ray is a bartender working for Abby’s husband, Julian Marty (Dan Hedaya), a Northern fellow drastically out of place in this Texan locale. Abby doesn’t like her violent husband; she likes the soft spoken Ray. Ray likes Abby, A patron-filled tavern is one setting in "Blood Simple. ". but he also likes his job. Marty used to like both of them, but finds out, through the efforts of a sleazy divorce detective, Visser (M. Emmet Walsh), that they redefined their priorities in a hotel room one night. Visser is the crux the film, the monkey wrench thrown in to the traditional love triangle. Walsh is brilliant in his por trayal of a man who truly en joys his slimy assignments. With flies perpetually buzz ing around his face, his sick laugh as he recounts the seedy details concerning Ray and Abby’s bout of lovemaking and an attitude that gives amorality a good name, Walsh epitomizes the depth of sleaze the Coens reach. Only Walsh’s drawling, sloppy character could believably accept Marty’s new proposition — $10,000 to eliminate the lovers. From there on nothing is as it seems. The intricate tale envelopes all four characters in a way none of them would have guessed and pulls in the only real innocent bystander of the story, Marty’s other bartender Maurice (Samm-Art Williams). None of the characters are in the least bit aware of what the others are up to; rash decisions are made and deadly consequences are the result. Director Joel and producer Ethan, who together wrote the screenplay, have captured the classic.elements of American film noir effectively in a modern setting. The claustrophobic settings, high-, contrast lighting, striking visual motifs and exciting camerawork are all here, but they are in the faithful service of Joel's brutal, black-humored vision. Yes, this is richly funny in a grisly way. The attention given to detail pays off in marvelous touches — a set of freshly caught fish slowly rot on a desk top over the few days the film covers, a motif of ceiling fans leads to some very clever transitions and in. the finale a series of bullet holes through an apartment wall creates one of the most strangely beautiful images of the film as tiny beams of light split the darkness of another room. You're not going to find a more intense, inventive 96 minutes for your money than “Blood Simple.” The Coen brothers have treated us to the best original film noir in years, and once and for all have pro ven that bigger is not always better, especially if it refers to film budgets. Sean Axmaker in jaetiori i GRAND OPENING SALE 9 SUNTOUR ARX Dtralllaur or Parfact PM $9.00 MERCIAN COMPLETE CUSTOM BIKE $499.00 I OTHER SPECIALS TO NUMEROUS TO LIST k »2.oo orr on anything y with thla ad Halt ona tlaa par cuatoaar, new cuatoaara only, y axplraa 4/30/85 PAUL•a 2460 Alder Custon Bicycles Quality Service BICYCLE 342-6155 SHOP BOSS Bicycle* Parts and Accessories OOK Helaet 916.00 Tubes, PV or SV 92.00 Dynapower Light $16.00 Cycle Pro Gloves $9.00
