“Now in Russia, they got it mapped out so that everyone pulls for everyone else – that’s the theory, anyway. But what I know about is Texas… And down here, you’re on your own.”
– Blood Simple
An endless landscape that evokes isolation and lawlessness, Texas provides a backdrop for the individual to not only survive but thrive. Bold, brazen characters, not lost in a collective identity, are instead divergent, often strange and eccentric.
Texas has always been a popular location for storytelling and was the setting used for the directorial debuts of both the Coen brothers and David Byrne. The Coens’ Blood Simple exploits the state for its sparse landscape in their grimy neo-noir full of blood and betrayal, while David Byrne dons his cowboy hat to guide us through the kooky and absurd lives of the inhabitants of the fictional town of Virgil, Texas.
