A Simple Plan

Plot synopsis:
Hank Mitchell is an ordinary guy who works at a small town feed store. His wife Sarah is expecting, and life is good. One day, Hank goes out with his brother Jacob, a simple loser, and Jacob's friend Lou, the town drunk. Hank and Jacob visit their father's grave, and on the way home a fox runs in front of Jacob's truck, causing them to wreck. Lou insists that the three pursue the fox into the woods to kill it.The three men get into the woods and get to talking. It is clear that Lou resents Hank, accusing him of "putting on airs." Just then, the men discover a crashed plane. Inside is a dead body with no ID and a bag containing several million dollars in cash. Hank wants to call the police, but Lou insists that the three split the money. Hank is reluctant, afraid that they will simply all get in trouble. He finally agrees on the condition that he be allowed to keep the money until spring, and if no one comes looking for it, they will split it and leave town.They bundle up the money and bring it to Jacob's truck. At that point they are approached by Sheriff Jenkins, who just stops to chat. Jacob tells the sheriff that they heard a plane in the distance as Hank nervously excuses themselves. Hank is furious at Jacob and Lou, who thought they could mention the plane to the sheriff in order to absolve themselves of suspicion in the event that the plane is found.Hank takes Lou home to his wife Nancy. They agree that they will keep it a secret from their wives. However, Hank goes home and immediately shows Sarah the money. She brainstorms and suggests that Hank and Jacob return a paltry sum of the money to the plane, so that if it is found, people may not look for the rest.The next day Hank and Jacob (without Lou's knowledge) travel to the plane to return some of the money. Jacob runs into Dwight Stephanson, an old man on a snowmobile. Jacob panics and hits Dwight over the head, presumably killing him. Hank takes the body out to conceal it, but Dwight wakes up. Hank then smothers him in order to protect his brother. Jacob then decides he wants to confess to the murder, but Hank notifies him that he was the one who actually killed Dwight. They load Dwight's body onto the snowmobile and drive it off a bridge, concealing the crime.Jacob brings Hank out to the old family farm. Jacob suggests that when they can spend the money that he should buy the old farm and run it. Hank scoffs, saying that Jacob's idea not only breaks their plan but that Jacob has no clue how to run a farm. Jacob tells Hank that the only reason the family lost the farm was that their father spent his money on Hank's college education.Meanwhile, Sarah has done research and concludes that the money they found was money from a kidnapping, and not a drug deal as they had originally assumed. This makes Hank all the more nervous, especially as one of the kidnappers would still be on the loose.Later, Lou comes to Hank and asks for his share of the money. Hank lies and tells him that it is in a storage locker far out of town. Lou reveals that Jacob told him about Dwight's murder, and threatens to tell the sheriff if Hank doesn't hand over the money.Sarah gives birth to her baby. She then gives Hank another idea: go out with Lou and Jacob and goad Lou into falsely confessing to Dwight's murder, recording the "confession" on tape. Hank asks Jacob to go along with it, but Jacob is very reluctant to betray his only friend. Hank promises Jacob that if he helps, that they can buy the family farm back.Hank and Sarah have Jacob over for dinner. Hank and Jacob talk about their father, with Jacob revealing that their father didn't die in an accident, but committed suicide so the family could have the insurance money. Their family apparently has a history of doing extreme things for money.The next night, Hank and Jacob take Lou out, supposedly to celebrate splitting up the money. Lou acts friendly to Hank but is obviously still resentful. Jacob is quiet and clearly angry with Hank for making him assist with this plan.They go to Lou's house where the men continue their talk. When Lou leaves the living room, Hank tells Jacob to goad Lou into confessing. Jacob gets angry at Hank. When Lou returns, Jacob belittles Hank, much to Lou's amusement. Suddenly, Jacob suggests that the two roleplay Hank's confession. Lou drunkenly goes along with this, saying that he killed Dwight.Hank draws the tape recorder and plays back the false confession. Lou argues that no one will ever believe it. Hank says that Lou is the town drunk and a loser, while Hank is respected, so everyone will believe him. Lou grabs his shotgun and holds it to Hank, demanding the tape. Jacob runs to his truck and grabs his rifle. Lou's wife Nancy comes downstairs and begs Lou to stop. Lou fires a shot just over Hank's head, and appears to be ready to kill Hank. Just then, Jacob shoots Lou in the head, killing him.Nancy is horrified. Hank tries to calm her down, but she grabs Lou's shotgun off the floor. Hank grabs it away from her, but she then runs into the kitchen and gets a pistol. She fires at Hank but he shoots back and kills her. Hank convinces a very distressed Jacob to tell the police that the married couple had a domestic dispute where Lou shot Nancy, forcing Jacob to kill Lou. Jacob agrees, and the two men get away once again.A while later, Sheriff Jenkins shows up at Hank's house during the night. Hank thinks he has been caught, but it turns out that the sheriff picked up Jacob drunk at Lou's house. Hank has Jacob in, who is clearly distraught about the violent turn their lives have taken.Later, Sheriff Jenkins calls Hank over to his office, where he introduces FBI agent Neil Baxter. Baxter tells him that he is searching for a lost plane, and since Jacob mentioned the plane to Sheriff Jenkins earlier on, they wanted to know if they could help with the search. Hank nervously agrees.At home, Hank tells Sarah of this new development. She is certain that Baxter is actually one of the kidnappers. Hank says that he is going to burn the money, but she demands that he doesn't. She names all of the things that they could do with the money and how life would be miserable if they didn't have it. Hank bitterly agrees not to burn it.Hank shows up at the sheriff's office to accompany Jenkins and Baxter on a search. Jacob is a no show. In the office, Sarah calls and tells Hank that she checked with the FBI and there is no agent Baxter. She advises Hank to flee as Baxter will likely kill them both when he finds the plane. Hank stalls for time and grabs a gun from Jenkins' gun cabinet, along with a variety of shells that may or may not fit.They get to the woods. Jacob arrives, saying that he spoke to Sarah on the phone. The sheriff gives Hank a whistle and says that if they find the plane they should fire a shot or blow the whistle and converge. They all split up into the woods, but Jenkins finds the plane and fires a few shots. Hank panics and runs towards the plane, screaming at Jenkins to watch out for Baxter. Just then, Baxter shoots and kills Jenkins. He turns to Hank and demands his money. He forces Hank into the plane to retrieve it.In the plane, Hank struggles to load the pistol. Most of the shells he grabbed don't fit. Finally, one slides into the chamber. He comes out of the plane with the small sum he returned earlier. Baxter looks through it as Hank draws his pistol. Baxter surrenders, but Hank shoots him dead anyway.Jacob arrives and surveys the bodies. Hank starts to concoct another lie, but Jacob says he has had enough. He begs Hank to kill him and frame Baxter for it, or else he will tell the police the entire real truth. Hank tearfully pulls the trigger on Jacob.Hank is taken to the sheriff's office and interviewed by the FBI. They tell him that some of the money in the plane was marked. Hank now knows that the money is useless, since he would quickly be caught spending it. Sarah begs him to keep it anyway, but he burns it in his fireplace.Hank tells us in voiceover that he has tried to go on with life as if nothing ever happened, but that the murderous events constantly haunt him.

Tags: comedy, psychological, neo noir, murder, dramatic, cult, violence, tragedy, suspenseful

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