A Simple Plan

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2:26

A Simple Plan

R

Released Sep 12, 1998

2h 1m

Mystery & Thriller

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

90%

Tomatometer

72 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

While in the woods near their small town, upstanding local Hank Mitchell (Bill Paxton), his dim brother Jacob (Billy Bob Thornton) and their friend Lou (Brent Briscoe) discover a crashed plane with two things in it -- a dead pilot, and a stash of more than four million dollars. Although Hank is reluctant to keep the money, Jacob and Lou convince him otherwise, and they devise a plan to split the fortune. Things quickly go wrong, however, dramatically affecting the trio and those around them.

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Critics Consensus

A riveting crime thriller full of emotional tension.

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Sight & Sound

[Raimi] austerely rejects hyped-up camera tricks and jokey shock effects and creates living, complex characters whose fates we care about. The result is easily his finest film to date.

Jun 18, 2012

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Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

A Simple Plan is lean, elegant, and emotionally complex - a marvel of backwoods classicism.

Rated: A

Sep 7, 2011

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Glenn Lovell

Variety

Perfect capers gone horribly, inexorably awry have always kept audiences squirming. But just when we think we've seen it all, Raimi offers a few new wrinkles.

Jul 22, 2008

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Jack Hawkins

HeyUGuys

It's a bona fide thriller that will cause your teeth to grind, your toes to curl, and your brain to consider, "What would I do?"

Rated: 5/5

Jan 13, 2021

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...a slow-moving yet mostly compelling drama that benefits substantially from its stellar performances...

Rated: 3/4

Nov 25, 2020

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Malcolm Johnson

Hartford Courant

Both heartbreaking and chilling, this film explores ancient themes in a contemporary, painfully familiar way.

Jun 8, 2018

Full Review

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mark g

As close to perfect as a film can get. Starts off as a simple plan, but things just spiral down from there, deeper and deeper. And what great casting!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/10/24

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Andrew R

There's really nothing wrong with this movie except Bill Paxton's performance.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/19/24

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Blu B

All Time Classic. You would never think watching this that Sam Raimi directed this. There is only very subtle queues here and there it's him. It's a shame he didn't do more things like this. This is masterfully edited, phenominally acted, and gorgously shot with really camerawork. The setting is very memorable. The premise is super simple but grows into an incredibly complex Coen Brothers Heist Thriller Noir hybrid. Billy Bob Thorton is amazing in this and is the best thing in it and that's saying a lot. The music is really good also. It's paced very well but it does feel like 2 hours as it moves at a very slow burn pace. However there is always something keeping your interest and it's never boring or too complex to follow. It's a tale about what money and greed can do to normal people. This does require a bit of patience as thrills are sparse in this but the drama, characters, and story more than make up for it. Everyone should give this a try once.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/27/24

Full Review

Vid R

Oscar snubed movie. Deserves best picture and best director nom. But it is still great drama

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/22/24

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James B

an underrated sam rami film great acting by billy bob thorton bill baxton and bridget fonda good twist ending intense film.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/10/24

Full Review

S R

Came across as cheap, frustrating and tacky. It had a good premise, "what would you do if you found a million dollars?" It was compounded by whom he found it with and that's where it lost me. Saw on Delta.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

07/15/24

Full Review

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Sam Raimi

Director

Bill Paxton

Hank Mitchell

Billy Bob Thornton

Jacob Mitchell

Brent Briscoe

Lou Chambers

Bridget Fonda

Sarah Mitchell

Jack Walsh

Tom Butler

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A Simple Plan: Trailer 1

2:26

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Synopsis

While in the woods near their small town, upstanding local Hank Mitchell (Bill Paxton), his dim brother Jacob (Billy Bob Thornton) and their friend Lou (Brent Briscoe) discover a crashed plane with two things in it -- a dead pilot, and a stash of more than four million dollars. Although Hank is reluctant to keep the money, Jacob and Lou convince him otherwise, and they devise a plan to split the fortune. Things quickly go wrong, however, dramatically affecting the trio and those around them.

Director: Sam Raimi
Producer: Adam Schroeder
Screenwriter: Scott B. Smith
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Mutual Film Company, Paramount Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 12, 1998, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $16.3M
Runtime: 2h 1m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital, DTS, Surround
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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