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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 417990" data-attributes="member: 23">A Simple Plan (1998) <img src="https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.shopify.com%2Fs%2Ffiles%2F1%2F1416%2F8662%2Fproducts%2FA_SimplePlan_1998_original_film_art_f_1200x.jpg%3Fv%3D1591294467&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=2da22b2df150c4c51be25b642d92a1dad769b91efe57cb89eade4a2a783086bc&ipo=images" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 664px" /> This is a completely new one for me. I'd never heard of it until I added it to my watchlist recently. As I began to watch, all I knew of the film was the poster image (sans tagline) and a brief overview  from the listing:It was vague enough to allow the film to go in any direction so had potential to surprise, which was enough to lure me in. The film opens with characters wishing one another "Happy New Year", but it tuned out that these scenes were set in the daytime on New Year's Eve. Is this standard in America, or is it a creative choice for the film? I've never known anyone to say this before the clock strikes midnight, and in Britain this would probably be considered rather inappropriate (and probably very unlucky according to the superstition that drove the tradition in the first place). What a surprise to see first Danny Elfman's name in the credits, and then Sam Raimi as director. These were the only clues as to when the film was made, because visually it felt simultaneously  contemporary and timeless. It looked really nice, particularly the snowy canvas on which it plays out. Another paradox was that the film was far more eventful than expected whilst also feeling very slow-paced at times. There was a lot of breathing room and there were scenes that felt almost dull, but then it would escalate and build and with the big picture, everything was important. The performances are all top-notch. Bill Paxton was torn wonderfully. Billy Bob Thornton's character was somewhere between Lenny from Of Mice And Men and Leonardo DiCaprio in What's Eating Gilbert Grape, though visually I kept seeing Austin Powers (and he had Jack Duckworth's trademark taped specs). Bridget Fonda's character started out appearing to be the most ethical but money has a way of changing these things. Brent Briscoe had a nice undercurrent of threat to his performance, while Gary Cole was nicely oblique as the FBI agent. The fact that the charactes live in a small rural community adds to the sense of paranoia. Everyone knows everybody else - and their business -  yet homes are remote enough to create a sense of isolation. The film's themes are most compelling. I'd hoped for a moral dilemma about what to do with the money found, and I got it. There's also the conspiracy element, with closely-tied people sharing a secret, which allows for increasing paranoia. Do they screw over the others before they themselves are screwed, or are they better off keeping everyone on side? A lot of nuance is created around this element and it makes for very taut viewing. Each attempt to cover up the secret involves another moral choice, and it's fascinating to see how much can be justified in these conditions. Ultimately, the big questions are around the effect of money: whether it will solve all one's problems or create more; whether it will allow people to be free and happy or confine them; whether it will make relationships easier and more loving, or destroy them. And it doesn't shy away from answering them.</blockquote>

Verification: Who played JR Ewing?