The Coen brothers movie nobody wanted to make: “They almost uniformly hated it”
The Coen Brothers are some of the most versatile and mischievous directors in the business, with a stylised level of lunacy that defines each project in their whacky worlds. Whether it be the riotous escalation of mishaps in Burn After Reading, the stifling tension of No Country for Old Men or comical sense of dread in A Serious Man, the directors have found their calling through nihilistic tales of characters who find themselves in often unbelievable situations that highlight their own powerlessness within a corrupt world, often shown through dark humour that varies depending on how their characters react to their circumstances.
Over the years, they have forged a unique story world for themselves through capturing the bizarre surrealism of modern life, becoming one of the most dynamic duos in Hollywood, despite the fact that their work was not always met with such enthusiasm.
The early films of the Coen Brothers contain all the trademarks of their later style, with a satirical core that mocks the experiences and outer world of their characters and a constant stream of tragedies. While they reached commercial success towards the end of the 1990s with films such as Fargo and The Big Lebowski, they had been plugging away in the industry for many years before then, with their first feature film, Blood Simple, not making such a splash.
Directed in 1984 by Joel Coen, the film follows the owner of a sketchy Texas bar who discovers that one of his employees is having an affair with his wife. This then sparks a chaotic chain of misunderstandings after he comes up with a plot to have them both murdered. Starring a fresh-faced Frances McDormand in the first of her many collaborations with the duo, the film perfectly encapsulates their fatalistic sense of humour and existential dread-infused neo-noir style, with each miscommunication escalating into to fatal circumstances.
However, while it is an early stroke of genius from the director that foreshadows their later success, it was not met kindly by critics or audiences. Joel discussed the poor reception of the film, saying, “When we first showed the movie to our investors, they almost uniformly hated it. They didn’t understand the tone could be a thriller, a horror movie and a comedy all at once. At the major studios, who rejected it, all the creative people loved it but all the marketing ones hated it. They couldn’t figure out how to sell it”.
“Black comedy scares marketing people, as I discovered when I made Get Shorty. It was not until the New York Film Festival in January 1985, where critics loved it, that it became a viable movie, and Crown International Pictures, an indie distributor, bought it”.
The script was written for a small budget, with the team managing to execute the project with less than a million dollars. While many studios would now leap at the chance to distribute their work, the independent filmmaking scene was more strict during this era and less enthusiastic about taking risks. But ultimately, there will always be someone with an eye to recognise true talent, and the film was able to make a dent in the mark and spark their illustrious careers.
