'Underrated masterpiece' thriller with 91% score that fans can't stop watching

A lesser-known "masterpiece" thriller is hailed by fans as "riveting". A Simple Plan (1998) is set in rural Minnesota and tells follows brothers Hank (played by Bill Paxton) and Jacob Mitchell (Billy Bob Thornton) and his Jacob's friend Lou (Brent Briscoe), who find the wreckage of a plane with $4.4 million-worth of cash inside.

Hank's wife Sarah (Briget Fonda) is also told about it, and together they agree a plan to keep it secret and share the wealth, but greed and suspicion begins to creep in. The film was directed by Sam Raimi, best known for his work on the Evil Dead and Spiderman franchises, and written by Scott B. Smith, who adapated from his own best-selling 1993 novel.

Danny Elfman, known for his work on various blockbusters including a number a Tim Burton films, wrote the score.

One fan on Metacritic wrote: "This absolutely fantastic film is one of my all time favorites, with the added benefit of being watchable a seemingly endless number of times."

Another wrote: "A riveting departure for director Sam Raimi, "A Simple Plan" is a harrowing cautionary tale featuring some stunning cinematography and one of Billy Bob Thornton's greatest performances."

One fan on Rotten Tomatoes said simply: "A MASTERPIECE AND A MUST WATCH."

Another wrote: "Loved every moment of this film. Truly this is one of Paxton's as well as one of Thornton's best."

A third said: "What starts off as a quirky drama slowly delves into darkness, suspense, paranoia, and dread by taking a concept that most of us have thought or asked someone at some point in our lives: "what would you do if you found a bag of money?" and turns it into a thrilling, tragic, and haunting crime thriller and possibly, in my opinion, Sam Raimi's best directed movie.

"It's also helped by a great screenplay by Scott B. Smith based on his own novel, and a really good lead cast featuring one of Billy Bob Thornton's best roles of his career.

"A Simple Plan is a severely underrated movie that I'd recommend to anyone who likes drama-thrillers."

The film has a 15 certificate and features strong language, violence, and suicide so may not be for everyone.

A Simple Plan is streaming for free on BBC iPlayer.

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