A Simple Plan starts out with an enormous amount of symbolism, between the snow and the crows. The snow obviously indicates the isolation and joylessness throughout the movie, and the birds are constant reminders that something bad is going to come any minute now. They are constantly reminding us that death and bad luck are coming for our main characters.
Now, I don't know about you, but I'm confused as to why every person in the film(and our class) acts as if it would be the obvious decision to leave or question the money. Maybe I'm a bit rash, but I would take that money if I found it. It's funny how people would act different when they are actually in a situation, rather than just discussing it. This is exemplified by Sarah's behavior, flipping from the innocent housewive to the greed-crazed criminal mastermind!! The greatest shot in the movie for me thus far is the smirk that appears over her face once she lays her eyes on the mound of cash on her diningroom table. It sums up the cunning that will soon surface in her and other characters.
I think she's the best actor in the film, with the sole exception of Billy Bob Thornton, who's a bit of a genius.
ReplyDeleteNot sure what you meant about not questioning the taking of the money. Clearly, you would understand that not reporting a downed airplane with a dead body and 4 million dollars in it is a crime.
Perhaps the snow represents his initial innocence and good will. Notice that as soon as he commits the crime he is obsessed with the idea of it snowing again but it just wont hmm.....
ReplyDeleteYes, it would of course be a crime technically, but I wouldn't think that I would ever get caught in a situation like that.
ReplyDeleteAnd victor, you make a good point except when he mentioned to his wife that he wanted it to snow, it was for the sake of hiding his crime. So it would make more sense if the snow symbolized deceit rather than purity.