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Cinematography by Barry Markowitz
Billy Bob Thornton
Dwight Yoakam
J.T. Walsh
John Ritter
Lucas Black
Natalie Canerday
James Hampton
Robert Duvall
The film was made for about a million bucks in 1996. Translation: It was made for peanuts. Nothing. Nada. That�s how much Blood Simple cost, for goodness sakes. Plus, Blood Simple was made in 1984, and didn�t look anywhere as polished as this film. And the low-budget look is put to excellent effect by Thornton, whose style works perfectly in the film: very long takes, a deliberate pace, understated performances, etc. (He even broke the 4th wall � a practice I discourage universally � and made it work.) The mood alternates between quietly hopeful and quietly disturbing, an unusual combination. And the script is truly excellent, so maybe the Academy gets it right sometimes.
But lets get down to brass tacks here. The real reason this film works is Billy Bob�s powerhouse performance as Karl Childers. I don�t think I can ever remember seeing such a complete, non-makeup-fueled physical transformation. The man looks completely different, for heaven�s sake! When I first started watching, I wasn�t exactly sure what I was getting myself into. But after that first monologue, I didn�t care; I was completely hooked. Thornton creates an incredibly moving, gentle, sympathetic character. His role makes the movie bitter-sweet; without that delicate balance between suffering and joy, the story would never work.
Some fine performances from the others, especially � oddly enough � Dwight Yoakam. There was a truly unsettling segment with Duval that would have been very interesting to explore, but I was relieved to see it pass by. I can only take so much emotional work at a time, I guess. And this movie is definitely emotional. But thought-provoking, as well. I was left with a very interesting moral question; one which I have not yet been able to resolve. And that�s what really good movies do, right? Keep you thinking...