The Story Archive

Blood Simple

Joel Coen, Ethan Coen · 1984 CE · Film · Modern / American · Contemporary

A Texas bar owner hires a sweating private detective to photograph his wife with the bartender she has left him for, then to kill them both. Every party acts on a fragment of the truth, and each attempt to correct the record makes matters worse. The Coens raised the money themselves, shot around Austin, and arrived with a style that was already finished.

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Attributes

Genre
Crime / NoirThriller
Theme
BetrayalGuilt & ConscienceJustice & RevengeWealth & Greed
Archetype (Jung / Campbell)
Anti-HeroVillain / TyrantEveryman
Plot structure
Ironic ReversalMystery
Symbol / motif
BloodThe WoundRain
Conflict
vs Personvs Self
Mode / tone
NoirIronic
Culture / tradition
Modern / American

Closest analogues