January 18, 1999
Why is Billy Bob Thornton so good at being stupid? One may as well ask why RuPaul looks so good in a dress or why Clinton can’t keep the presidential pecker to himself – it is what they were born to do. Thornton steals the show as the ‘one taco short of a combination platter’ brother to Bill Paxton in this morality tale about greed and human nature.
This is not what I expected out of Sam Raimi. It’s almost as if Raimi got his film switched with a Coen Brothers’ film accidentally – and Evil Dead 4, directed by the Coens, surely must be coming out this summer. Everything I have read about this film so far has contained comparisons to Fargo – so I won’t even go there. Actually, the first thing I thought of when I saw this film was The Usual Suspects, I guess because of the surprise ending…or maybe because Gabriel Byrnes=Coen Brothers=Fargo=….Nevermind.
One thing – as SOON as I saw Gary Cole, I knew he was evil. Ever since Fatal Vision, he has totally given me the creeps. Fatal Vision gave me nightmares for years, and that was just the commercials. I got chills trying to watch those damn Brady Bunch movies.
I haven’t seen a film this thought provoking since Dark City. Even though it left a bad taste in my mouth, I would have to say this is going to be one of the best films of the year. Most people will not like this film, mainly because it points out fallacies in human nature and logic. You realize that if a tragedy like this can happen to ‘good upstanding people’ like Hank and Sarah, then it can happen to you too.
Rating – R
Runtime – 121 minutes
Genre – Book Adaptation
Director(s) – Sam Raimi
Writer(s) – Scott B. Smith
Actor(s) – Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, Bridget Fonda, Brent Briscoe, Gary Cole
BOB Rating – Four BOBs
Favorite Quote – "No one would ever believe that you're capable of doing the things you've done." - Sarah (Bridget Fonda)