Fargo Goes Far

In contrast to my good associates review of "Burn After Reading" I thought I should review "Fargo", a movie that, like "The Shining" has become a winter tradition in this household. I will note that this is the third Coen Brother's movie to be reviewed here, maybe it's coincidence, or we just happen to enjoy their movies.

So "Fargo" begins with a simple slate telling us this is a true story and only the names have been changed. Only a "true" story could be strange enough to be believable. We find Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy), a overly in debt car salesman attempting to pull off a scheme that involves the kidnapping of his wife and large amounts of ransom money from is gruff father-in-law Wade Gustafson (Harve Presnell). The idea is that his wife won't get hurt, he'll pay the kidnappers the $40K he promises them (plus a new car) AND he'll keep a hefty sum that Wade will THINK the kidnappers want for his wife. A flawless plan...right?

Jerry is a simple man, who is in way over his head. Enter Carl (Steve Buscemi) and Gaear (Peter Stormare). A pair of underworld thugs who go together like the Odd Couple. After the two pull of the kidnapping of Jerry's wife all hell breaks loose on a North Dakota road as they return with Jerry's wife from Minneapolis. Carl tells Jerry "Blood has been shed," which creates quite the predicament for Jerry.

Well the rest of story slowly becomes uncovered by Chief Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand Oscar Winning Role), a dead pan, pregnant police chief who really doesn't excite too easily. Her matter-a-fact attitude is a wonderful character to follow as the story unfolds and the bad guys are chased.

This film really has stood the test of time for story telling. It's still fun and the characters are each so distinct. At times they are (on purpose I'm sure) very comical. Fargo, is meant to be a dark comedy, and the reason that works is because the Coen Brothers have created not characters but caricatures of people we've met...especially from the upper mid-west. The story line flows from one scene to another as you watch each person begin to crack on the pressure of the kidnapping, the money and, well, being in North Dakota. Marge is our solid base. She's that "good" motherly person (how can forget...she's pregnant through the entire film) that can make all the "bad guys" feel guilty about how they've behaved.

The shooting on this movie is done by Cinematographer extraordinaire Roger Deakins, whom the Coen Brothers tend to use on most of their films. The Dakota snow-scapes are beautiful. You can feel the cold, the emptiness, the want to be indoors. One of my favorite shots is watching Jerry walk back his car in an otherwise empty parking-lot. The camera is high above and everything is white except for the curbed islands and Jerry's car. If you love good cinematography you should never miss a Deakins film.

Look- 9.5
Story - 8
Acting - 9