Blood Simple

With their debut BLOOD SIMPLE, the Coen brothers delivered one of the definitive successful films of US independent cinema between Jim Jarmusch and Quentin Tarantino. A Texan neo-noir whose twists and turns run perfectly like the gears of a wound-up music box. A cuckolded husband hires a private detective to eliminate his wife and her lover. Consequently, a chain reaction of crimes ensues, resulting only from mistakes, while the crucial clue is overlooked among rotting fish. The superb ensemble (Frances McDormand in her first role, Dan Hedaya, M. Emmet Walsh) sweats in the pale neon light, while the Coens establish their unmistakable signature: technical virtuosity, black humour and pop-cultural savvy (the title quotes Dashiell Hammett, the plot James M. Cain). Suspense and satire merge seamlessly: amoral slap-stick, the timing of which is even tighter in the three-minute shorter director's cut. (Christoph Huber)

Photo: Austrian Film Museum