.gif)
A Simple Plan (film)
Encyclopedia
A Simple Plan is a 1998 drama film directed by Sam Raimi
, based on the novel of the same name by Scott Smith
, who also wrote the screenplay of the film. It was shot in Delano, Minnesota
and Ashland
and Saxon, Wisconsin
. Billy Bob Thornton was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
. Scott Smith was nominated for the Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay
.
Several prominent critics praised the film for its complexity and taut suspense (four stars from Roger Ebert
and Critic's Choice from The New York Times
).
) and his pregnant wife, Sarah (Bridget Fonda
), live in rural Minnesota
. Hank, one of the town's few residents to graduate from college, works in a feed mill, while his wife is a librarian. Hank's brother, Jacob (Billy Bob Thornton
), is a dim-witted but good-hearted fellow. The story begins with Hank, Jacob, and Jacob's friend, Lou (Brent Briscoe
), chasing a fox into the woods. They lose the fox, but find a crashed airplane. The pilot is long dead and the only cargo is a bag full of unmarked bills totaling $4.4 million.
Hank suggests turning the money in, but is persuaded not to by Jacob and Lou. Hank's condition is that he keep the money safe at his house and no one spends anything until winter ends and everyone moves away when they divvy up the cash. All agree to keep the discovery a secret. When they return to their vehicle, Carl, the sheriff
, appears and Hank nervously talks to him while Jacob mentions hearing a plane in the area. Hank reveals the discovery to his wife, who is overjoyed.
When Hank and Jacob return to the plane to put some of the money back as part of a larger plan to avoid suspicion, they come across an old man on a snowmobile
. Jacob, thinking their cover is blown, bludgeons the man. When the man regains consciousness and asks for the police, Hank suffocates him and makes it look like an accidental death. Jacob reneges on his promise to move away during the summer, and tells of his intention to buy his father's farm with his share of the money. Lou drunkenly demands some of the money from Hank, because he has spent recklessly since the discovery and needs cash fast. Hank refuses and Lou threatens to tell the authorities about the old man's death. Hank and Jacob team up against Lou. Lou, drunk and enraged that the two conspired against him, pulls a gun. Jacob kills Lou to save his brother, and then Hank kills Lou's wife when she appears, firing another gun. Hank concocts a plan as to what to tell the police to avoid arrest. The plan works, thanks to Hank's solid reputation in the community and Jacob's rehearsed speech to the police. Jacob tells Hank that this whole turn of events is wearing on him and that he "feels evil".
Later, the sheriff calls Hank and tells him that the FBI has arrived, looking for a downed plane that may have crashed in the area. Because Jacob mentioned a plane earlier, the sheriff asks the brothers to assist in the search of the woods. Sarah is immediately skeptical and discovers that the FBI man is actually involved with the money and is looking for his lost cash. Hank still goes with him in order to protect Carl, he brings a gun with him just in case. Then the sheriff, the FBI man, Hank and Jacob head into the woods. They find the plane, and the FBI man pulls a gun and kills the sheriff, revealing that he is looking for the lost money, and not with the FBI. Jacob and Hank manage to get the drop on the man, and Hank kills him. Hank starts to concoct another story to tell the authorities, but Jacob announces he doesn't want to live with these bad memories, and will shoot himself to end it. He encourages Hank to kill him instead and frame the FBI man, so that Hank can still tell any story he wants. After grappling with the decision, Hank kills Jacob, and starts sobbing.
At the police station, Hank tells his story to real FBI agents. As Sarah had predicted, no one would believe that this upstanding member of the community could be capable of such wrongdoing, and he is cleared of any crime. But he gets some unexpected bad news. The money in the plane is actually ransom money paid to kidnappers, and before it was delivered, many of the bills' serial numbers were written down to track the cash and find whoever was using it. Hank realizes he cannot use the money without fear of being caught. He goes home and burns all the money, with his wife struggling to stop him. Hank and Sarah go back to their old lives and Hank reflects on their losses.
.
Sam Raimi
Samuel Marshall "Sam" Raimi is an American film director, producer, actor and writer. He is best known for directing cult horror films like the Evil Dead series, Darkman and Drag Me to Hell, as well as the blockbuster Spider-Man films and the producer of the successful TV series Hercules: The...
, based on the novel of the same name by Scott Smith
Scott Smith (author)
Scott Bechtel Smith is an American author and screenwriter, who has published two suspense novels, A Simple Plan and The Ruins. His screen adaptation of A Simple Plan earned him an Academy Award nomination...
, who also wrote the screenplay of the film. It was shot in Delano, Minnesota
Delano, Minnesota
Delano is a city in Wright County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 5,464 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
and Ashland
Ashland, Wisconsin
Ashland is a city in Ashland and Bayfield counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The city is a port on Lake Superior, near the head of Chequamegon Bay. The population was 8,695 at the 2010 census....
and Saxon, Wisconsin
Saxon, Wisconsin
Saxon is a town in Iron County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 350 at the 2000 census. The census-designated place of Saxon is located in the town.-Culture:Each August, Saxon hosts the Iron County fair....
. Billy Bob Thornton was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
. Scott Smith was nominated for the Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay
Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay
The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
.
Several prominent critics praised the film for its complexity and taut suspense (four stars from Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
and Critic's Choice from The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
).
Plot
Hank Mitchell (Bill PaxtonBill Paxton
William "Bill" Paxton is an American actor and film director. He gained popularity after starring roles in the films Apollo 13, Twister, Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic...
) and his pregnant wife, Sarah (Bridget Fonda
Bridget Fonda
Bridget Jane Fonda is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in films such as The Godfather Part III, Single White Female, Point of No Return, It Could Happen to You, and Jackie Brown...
), live in rural Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. Hank, one of the town's few residents to graduate from college, works in a feed mill, while his wife is a librarian. Hank's brother, Jacob (Billy Bob Thornton
Billy Bob Thornton
Billy Bob Thornton is an American actor, screenwriter, director and musician. Thornton gained early recognition as a cast member on the CBS sitcom Hearts Afire and in several early 1990s films including On Deadly Ground and Tombstone...
), is a dim-witted but good-hearted fellow. The story begins with Hank, Jacob, and Jacob's friend, Lou (Brent Briscoe
Brent Briscoe
Brent Briscoe is an American actor and screenwriter.Briscoe was born in Moberly, Missouri. After finishing his education at the University of Missouri, Briscoe launched his career as a theater actor. He then segued into screenwriting and acting in feature films...
), chasing a fox into the woods. They lose the fox, but find a crashed airplane. The pilot is long dead and the only cargo is a bag full of unmarked bills totaling $4.4 million.
Hank suggests turning the money in, but is persuaded not to by Jacob and Lou. Hank's condition is that he keep the money safe at his house and no one spends anything until winter ends and everyone moves away when they divvy up the cash. All agree to keep the discovery a secret. When they return to their vehicle, Carl, the sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
, appears and Hank nervously talks to him while Jacob mentions hearing a plane in the area. Hank reveals the discovery to his wife, who is overjoyed.
When Hank and Jacob return to the plane to put some of the money back as part of a larger plan to avoid suspicion, they come across an old man on a snowmobile
Snowmobile
A snowmobile, also known in some places as a snowmachine, or sled,is a land vehicle for winter travel on snow. Designed to be operated on snow and ice, they require no road or trail. Design variations enable some machines to operate in deep snow or forests; most are used on open terrain, including...
. Jacob, thinking their cover is blown, bludgeons the man. When the man regains consciousness and asks for the police, Hank suffocates him and makes it look like an accidental death. Jacob reneges on his promise to move away during the summer, and tells of his intention to buy his father's farm with his share of the money. Lou drunkenly demands some of the money from Hank, because he has spent recklessly since the discovery and needs cash fast. Hank refuses and Lou threatens to tell the authorities about the old man's death. Hank and Jacob team up against Lou. Lou, drunk and enraged that the two conspired against him, pulls a gun. Jacob kills Lou to save his brother, and then Hank kills Lou's wife when she appears, firing another gun. Hank concocts a plan as to what to tell the police to avoid arrest. The plan works, thanks to Hank's solid reputation in the community and Jacob's rehearsed speech to the police. Jacob tells Hank that this whole turn of events is wearing on him and that he "feels evil".
Later, the sheriff calls Hank and tells him that the FBI has arrived, looking for a downed plane that may have crashed in the area. Because Jacob mentioned a plane earlier, the sheriff asks the brothers to assist in the search of the woods. Sarah is immediately skeptical and discovers that the FBI man is actually involved with the money and is looking for his lost cash. Hank still goes with him in order to protect Carl, he brings a gun with him just in case. Then the sheriff, the FBI man, Hank and Jacob head into the woods. They find the plane, and the FBI man pulls a gun and kills the sheriff, revealing that he is looking for the lost money, and not with the FBI. Jacob and Hank manage to get the drop on the man, and Hank kills him. Hank starts to concoct another story to tell the authorities, but Jacob announces he doesn't want to live with these bad memories, and will shoot himself to end it. He encourages Hank to kill him instead and frame the FBI man, so that Hank can still tell any story he wants. After grappling with the decision, Hank kills Jacob, and starts sobbing.
At the police station, Hank tells his story to real FBI agents. As Sarah had predicted, no one would believe that this upstanding member of the community could be capable of such wrongdoing, and he is cleared of any crime. But he gets some unexpected bad news. The money in the plane is actually ransom money paid to kidnappers, and before it was delivered, many of the bills' serial numbers were written down to track the cash and find whoever was using it. Hank realizes he cannot use the money without fear of being caught. He goes home and burns all the money, with his wife struggling to stop him. Hank and Sarah go back to their old lives and Hank reflects on their losses.
Cast
- Bill PaxtonBill PaxtonWilliam "Bill" Paxton is an American actor and film director. He gained popularity after starring roles in the films Apollo 13, Twister, Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic...
as Hank Mitchell - Bridget FondaBridget FondaBridget Jane Fonda is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in films such as The Godfather Part III, Single White Female, Point of No Return, It Could Happen to You, and Jackie Brown...
as Sarah Mitchell - Billy Bob ThorntonBilly Bob ThorntonBilly Bob Thornton is an American actor, screenwriter, director and musician. Thornton gained early recognition as a cast member on the CBS sitcom Hearts Afire and in several early 1990s films including On Deadly Ground and Tombstone...
as Jacob Mitchell - Brent BriscoeBrent BriscoeBrent Briscoe is an American actor and screenwriter.Briscoe was born in Moberly, Missouri. After finishing his education at the University of Missouri, Briscoe launched his career as a theater actor. He then segued into screenwriting and acting in feature films...
as Lou Chambers - Jack Walsh as Tom Butler
- Chelcie RossChelcie RossChelcie Claude Ross is an American character actor. He served in Vietnam as an officer in the United States Air Force, and earned an MFA from the Dallas Theater Center.-Filmography:*Skokie *On the Right Track...
as Sheriff Carl Jenkins - Becky Ann BakerBecky Ann BakerBecky Ann Baker is an American actress who is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Jean Weir on NBC's Emmy Award-winning Freaks and Geeks.-Early life:Baker was born Becky Gelke in Fort Knox, Kentucky...
as Nancy Chambers - Gary ColeGary ColeGary Michael Cole is an American actor. Cole is known for his supporting roles in numerous film and television productions since the 1990s.-Early life:...
as Neil Baxter - Bob Davis as FBI Agent Renkins
- Peter Syvertsen as FBI Agent Freemont
- Tom Carey as Dwight Stephanson
Reception
A Simple Plan was met with critical acclaim, receiving a 90% approval rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
.