To me, we really overlook the importance of Abby's gun in Blood Simple. While every character is led around by accusation and misinformation, the revolver, if it could speak, knows more information than any of the characters in the film. It's in all of the important scenes in the film, and it's possessor holds the power in the scene. One of the coldest moments in the film is where Ray prys the .38 from Marty and continues to shovel dirt on him.
Also, a pearl handled .38 is a nice metaphor for a femme fatale if you think about it. Pretty to look at, but dangerous to hold.
That last sentence is fantastic! That really does ring true. The gun was also one of the main factors that made Ray mistrust Abby. If he hadn't found the gun, he wouldn't have thought the "killer" was her. I suppose you're right that he held the power when he had the gun too, but instead of asking her about it, he just set it down on the table and walked out the door. If he would have talked to her about it, maybe they could have figured out there was someone following them. Unfortunately for both of them, they didn't know about Loren. Even when Ray found the picture at the end, he only knew someone was following them, not who it was. I think perhaps Ray put together the gun wasn't necessarily at the scene due to Abby after seeing the picture, but by the time he got back to Abby, it was too late. The time for talking was over.
ReplyDeleteLoren's lighter is an interesting prop too, which is neglected the entire time it sits there on the table (understandably, as it is underneath the dead fish). It would have been an important piece of the puzzle. Not really the most professional P.I. I've ever seen.
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of like Chinatown, where all the clues are there. All the evidence they need is in their grasp. Only this time we know the clues are there and it creates anxiety in the audience knowing that all the good guys need is so close but they just don't see it. I think this movies represents natural behavior of normal people. They aren't uncommonly good at finding clues and piecing them together. They act in the moment. They obtain only a few things like Ray finding the gun and then stop looking. Why should he keep investigating when he already "figured it out"? It's when the Coen brothers decided to show us both sides of the coin, that proper suspensions lasts nearly the entire movie instead of using it as a plot twist towards the end (like in Chinatown)
DeleteAnd yet never used by her until the end to save herself, a gift from Marty.
ReplyDeleteI never thought of the gun in that perspective. At the end, I wasn't sure how many bullets remained in the chamber, but thought that the one shot she took was the only bullet left. To me, the power was not so much in who had the gun, but I think it was more of an idea of who could be trusted. The power was in whoever had an ally. Ray and Abby could have had trust in each other if they just communicated about everything that had happened. It was all a matter of making assumptions and the assumptions were not credible. On a lesser scale, lack of communication leads to breakdowns in relationships in real life. Maybe this was just a dramatization of that breakdown in its most extreme state.
ReplyDeleteWow comparing the gun to a femme fatale! I had never thought about it that way, however it is extremely accurate. The gun has seen everything, and knows everything, yet is just an "innocent bystander" in the minds of all the characters involved. Usually the same holds true for our femme fatale character, knows everything but acts like she knows nothing.
ReplyDeleteWe mentioned in class how the film doesn't "follow" one single character through the movie. Different points of view are shown at different times. Maybe instead of following a character, it follows the journey of the gun.
ReplyDeleteGreat insight or perspective about the gun and seeing it another character. I felt like many things were easily overlooked that could have explained a lot for Ray and Abby. I felt the lighter was always in plain view (just tucked in close to fish), but even in the confusion of a dead body, what's the deal with leaving dead fish on the desk?
ReplyDeleteReally interesting insight, OP Aaron!
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