Mark Leeper wrote:

> Martin Gardner once wrote a book about what he called the "Aha!-
> experience." That is the instant in problem solving when all the
> pieces of the puzzle fit together and everything makes sense.
> MISSION IMPOSSIBLE was an entire TV series designed to create
> "Aha!" experiences. In each episode the main characters knew
> exactly what they were doing, but until the end the viewer was
> confused. Then at the end everything fit together.

> Don't look for that sort of scripting in the current Tom Cruise
> "Mission Impossible" series or at least look for it in the current
> "Ocean's 11" series, which seems to leave the viewer guessing until
> the end of the story.

> The Coen Brothers' BLOOD SIMPLE is sort of the dual of TV's MISSION
> IMPOSSIBLE. It is a film about the "Huh?" experience. Through
> most of the convoluted plot, it is the viewer who knows what is
> going on and the characters keep finding out that they only
> *thought* they knew what was happening. With the exception of the
> moments when the plot twists, it is really easy to keep track of
> what is happening. Yet, like RASHOMON, each character has a
> different understanding of who is doing what to whom. The plot can
> just be described as slow chaos punctuated with moments of
> delicious confusion from the characters.

> This is a film of very high production values which looks as if it
> was printed on cheap film stock. Somehow the film stock gives it a
> gritty feel of authenticity that a slick production would lack.
> There are some incredible camera shots in this film and it is
> amazing that they do not feel contrived. It is like reading Victor
> Hugo: the first time you read a paragraph, you are amazed at how
> well-written it is, and only secondarily you realize that it really
> did advance the plot. Scenes in this film are amazing in the same
> way.

> One scene toward the end of the film is particularly haunting. We
> are in a dark room and someone is shooting holes in the wall from a
> well-lit room. The effect is one of columns of light sprouting out
> of a dark wall. The scene fits naturally into the plot, but still
> is an unforgettable image. The effect was used again in SILVERADO.

> In some way I still do not understand, the cameraman is
> unobtrusively able to make the viewer notice props that will be
> important later. A prop will become important in the plot and the
> viewer finds himself thinking, "Yes, I noticed that prop five
> minutes ago, but it was in a corner of the screen and I thought
> noticing it was my idea."

> I rate this a low +3 on the -4 to +4 scale.

> Film Credits: <https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086979/reference>

> What others are saying: <https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blood_simple>

> --
> Mark R. Leeper

> (a film retrospective by Mark R. Leeper)

----------- Wow... i remember the name [Mark R. Leeper]
from the glory days of USENET's Rec.Arts.Movies........

if it's [a film retrospective], i'd expected things like....
[ When i first saw it, .......... but now coming back more than 3 decades later... ]
(as in J. Rosenbaum's film retrospective)