A Domino Effect of Events : A Simple Plan

Simple doesn't seem to give this film any justice at all. Such an oxymoron is yet to reveal the true notion of the film: a twisted plot full of consequences. One consequence leads to the other. As I sat there watching the film, I thought to myself, was it really necessary to kill the man on the snowmobile and fake his "accidental" death? It sure got rid of the police and interrogations, but would a life full of misery and cruel torture be worth the knowledge of having killed another human being intentionally? When Jacob punched the guy, he didn't know what he was doing and it was not a purposeful death. Besides Jacob is portrayed as somewhat of a mentally disabled character, so he might have gotten away with the attack since the guy ended up alive.

Here is where we come across with all the reasons why the stolen money is bringing all the trouble. If Hank and the others had nothing to hide then certainly there would be no reason to punch the guy or hide from the authorities or suspect others of suspecting them. Even when the sheriff pulled over in the truck just after they had finished counting the money, Hank was extremely nervous and spoke rather suspiciously. Then Jacob threw in a hint about the plane and instead of easily playing along with it, Hank spoke in an uncomfortable manner and denied the existence of the plane. So now, if the sheriff were to come across the plane the men would be suspects of some sort because Hank pretended that Jacob was once again blabbering nonsense.

One thing certainly leads to another in this film. It is like the classical snowball, the domino effect and a chain reaction all put together. The director sure did a great job planning out the events and how one thing would lead to another. Based on the scenario and eerie black ravens/crows in the background, I'm sure that the end of Hank's troubles and "crimes" is nowhere near. When Lou Jacob and Hank first entered the forest, it was clear that they were in for some sort of trouble and danger. One of the characters said "we're collecting the dead" as a query to their actions in the forest. I'm still not sure what he meant by that and what exactly is their job in the forest. Next, the camera shot from an incredible angle at the three men walkinf below. The camera was pinpointed as if from the sky on one of the higher tree branches so that the men looked relatively tiny below the branches with the ravens peering auspiciously down at them. I personally think that one of the symbols of the film are the ravens (the black birds) because they add an especially mysterious aura to the film: some drop of "evil." When Sarah mentions that they now will be "thinking ahead all the time" it seems as tough the money will never give them peace and more events are in store. We will have to wait and see the second part of the movie tomorrow to see if the money is really worth all the trouble!

Thrown into the world of Momento

After watching Dark City, the plot of Momento seemed rather repititive. Missing the first day of Momento, I was thrown into a perplexing mix of scenes and actions. With a film like Momento it is quite difficult to catch on half way through the plot as if nothing was missed. I found myself experiencing the same sense of emotion that Leonard was experiencing. You wake up and don't know what world you are thrown into. The film I was thrown into came back at me with a pleasant surprise. The more realistic and closer to life scenario of Momento made the film more relatable than the sci-fi genre of Dark City. The director maneuvered the chronological sequence of the film in such a skillful way as to show the audience or viewers(us) the confusion of Leonard's mind. We learned in class that Leonard was actually capable of forming new memories since he had flash backs of injecting insulin into his wife. At the time he did that he probably invented the story of Sammy to make himself forget that he was the killer of his own wife. It must be devastating to hold those memories forvever by writing them down so it is easier to just make up fake memories to remember in the future. The real truth cannot be traced and Leonard gets away with living a comppletely fake life chasing the unknown:John G.