Fargo Movie Review

Coen Brothers masterpiece that is one of their best among many classics in their filmography

Jerry, a small-town Minnesota car salesman is bursting at the seams with debt… but he’s got a plan. He’s going to hire two thugs to kidnap his wife in a scheme to collect a hefty ransom from his wealthy father-in-law. It’s going to be a snap and nobody’s going to get hurt… until people start dying. Enter Police Chief Marge, a coffee-drinking, parka-wearing - and extremely pregnant - investigator who’ll stop at nothing to get her man. And if you think her small-time investigative skills will give the crooks a run for their ransom… you betcha! The Coens beautifully combine violence, satire, mystery, and thriller to create something familiar but completely original that is its own thing getting incredible performances from the cast.

The Coens Direction in this film is incredible the way they capture winter in Minneapolis Minnesota is so unique in film you don’t see often in film. Their confidence radiates off the screen the choices of they put the camera like when Carl is walking away from the cabin but there is room over his shoulder with us in front of him creates this tension that something is going to happen until it does or the way Marge and her husband feel completely normal everyday life is amazing. One of the many things that stand out is how most of the film the camera is mostly static except when Marge is looking for the missing car the camera is tracking her to make us feel like you are with her to build tension because you know the criminal she is about to meet just chopped someone up with an ax so you are terrified as to what is going to happen and the Coens are some of the best at it along with their ability to mix these distinct tones of dark black comedy with shocking violence seamlessly is incredible when so many movies that try to do that fail miserably which is testament to the Coens.

The cast in the film is amazing starting with William H Macy as Jerry who I don’t know can play pathetic better than Macy whether it’s in this film or Boogie Nights he can play this sad sack who is you can have some sympathy for then absolutely hate him for how much of a sociopath he is in this film. Unlike so many other sociopaths in film he is moron who thinks he’s smarter than what he actually is like when he thought he had convinced Wade and Stan to go along with his business proposal but did not think it through or when he comes home calls out to his wife but she has been kidnapped which is obvious he completely forgot about it or when he is at work scamming a customer to get more money with a true code at the car dealership you see how sadly pathetic he is and Macy does an incredible job playing all those shades of Jerry. Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare as Caral and Gaear are such a great duo in great I mean they are the greatest dysfunctional couple that can’t stand each other with Caral getting more angry, frustrated, and irate that Gaear will not engage in conversation with him which shows this characters insecurity with a need to feel powerful with Gaear who hardly talks throughout the film you can tell from his presence he is the alpha of this partnership he is terrifying in how he will kill without hesitation in brutal ways that are shocking as a viewer. In Contrast Francis McDormand as Marge who comes in 33 minutes into the movie is so great as this kind, pregnant, brilliant police detective who embodies the Minnesota nice but has the traits of all the great detectives in cinema and her marriage to Norm Played by John Carol Lynch who is terrifying in Zodiac as the possible killer is so lovely in every scene he is in with Marge they are such a loving giving couple to each other which is a great contrast to the other characters in the film who are all such horrible incompetent morons.

Thematically this movie is densely rich exploring characters who think they are smarter than they are with plans that are not thought out well that not surprisingly goes horribly wrong. The theme of people who are at a breaking point make irrational decisions trying to break out of their situations in life like Jerry having his wife kidnapped that’s how desperately pathetic he is that he won’t ask his father-in-law Wade for help who is wealthy tells you how little respect he has. The way the film shows that the characters who lie about who they are full of shit with Marge who is not trying to convince anybody of anything she is just doing her job and is secure in who she is.

The score of the film is hauntingly beautiful that is so distinctly unique that is another character in the film that brings the Minnesota nice to life along with the hint of menace that is to come. The Cinematography by Rodger Deakins is some of the best work in his career in my opinion because you look at the Coens movies he did before Like Barton Fink and Hudsucker Proxy they look like movies that look like him showing off with Fargo it looks like a camera was turned on to observe these characters that feels completely real.

Final thoughts is this is one of my favorite movies of all time since the first time I saw it 8 or 9 years ago it is one of those films that embodies why I love movies I encourage you to seek this one out on 4k Blu-Ray and streaming it is so good I have no critiques of this one I will give it a 5 out of 5 stars.