Blood Simple (1984)

Joel and Ethan Coen (collectively the Coen Brothers) are something of a film institution at this point, so it's always interesting to head back to the origin. As their first film, Blood Simple succeeds in some areas, and utterly fails in others. To call the introductory 40 minutes or so slow paced, overly drawn out, and just downright boring is about as fair as I can bring myself to be. There's hardly a word spoken, and each line is delivered with a good 3 or 4 seconds of pad time between. It's visually well made, but nothing is happening. Thankfully, or mercifully depending on how you look at it, the second half of the film is generally excellent. It has a chilling thriller vibe, and the previously cumbersome slow pace almost becomes an asset as it's used toward generating suspense instead of drama. As the paranoia mounts, the film picks up interest, gains character, and the true origins of what the Coen Brothers are capable of becomes apparent. It's half of a great beginning, but definitely better suited to the more patient among us.

7 out of 10.