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Fargo (1996)

Average rating

(74%)

Starring:	Frances McDormand \| Steve Buscemi \| Peter Stormare \| Harve Presnell \| William H. Macy
Director:	Joel Coen
Studio:	MGM HOME ENT. (EUROPE) LTD.
Run time:	94 mins
Genres:	Thriller
Languages:	English
Released:	April 21, 2003

Poor Jerry Lundegaard. He's deep in debt. His wealthy father-in-law has no respect for him. He cheats customers at the car dealership where he works. And now he's hired a bumbling duo to kidnap his wife--a plan that goes horribly awry, leading to homicide.
Enter Marge Gunderson, one of the most fabulous movie cops in film history. The very-pregnant Marge--played marvelously by Frances McDormand in an Oscar-winning and career-defining performance--just goes about her everyday business, eating (in nearly every scene), talking to the people in the community, and examining bloody corpses as if no day is different from the next. A multiple murder in the small town of Brainerd, Minnesota--home of Paul Bunyan, as the sign claims--seems to have little effect on her. Yet she has an innate cop sense--she is very, very good at her job and determined to solve the case in her offhanded manner.
FARGO is yet another offbeat, highly entertaining film from the Coen brothers (BARTON FINK, BLOOD SIMPLE). The film is nearly colorless; instead, director of photography Roger Deakins washes the screen in the blinding white of the snow, occasionally breaking for the drab grays and browns of police uniforms and winter jackets. Carter Burwell's score further enhances the slow, steady pace of this oddly funny and compelling film. The Coens have once again populated their film with a slew of bizarre characters, with outstanding performances delivered by all, particularly the edgy William H. Macy, the quietly luminous McDormand, the nearly psychotic Steve Buscemi, and the oh-so-cold Peter Stormare.

Rating of 5 stars out of 5

The Coen brothers (director/writer Joel, producer/writer Ethan) are on top form with this quirky, unconventional, comedy-tinged crime thriller set in snowy Minnesota. Amateur kidnappers Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare leave a trail of dead bodies that is investigated, with rare instinct and understanding, by heavily pregnant police chief Frances McDormand (who won an Oscar for her performance). Supposedly inspired by a true story, the Coens neatly subvert thriller clichés for their own surreal and philosophical ends, while retaining the genre's old-fashioned virtues and screw-tightening tension. While sweet-natured mirth is combined with deliciously twisted malice, and gory horror merges with offbeat humour, the whole is set against an extraordinary winter wonderland backdrop. The result is a modern masterpiece.

Rating of 4 stars out of 5
Halliwell's Film Guide

Deft, witty and original thriller which pits a pregnant, rural police chief against two city slickers; the violence, when it comes, is properly shocking, but it's the humanity that you will remember.

Highest rated reviews

94 out of 99 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 5.0 stars
The Coens at the top of their game

David Gray from Clackmannanshire, Scotland, 24th February, 2004

Fargo represents The Coen Brothers at the very pinnacle of their creatrive genius. Combining an interesting plot with black comedy and characters you cannot help but engage with, Fargo is a film that you will remember for a LONG time.

The story is supposedly 'base on actual events' tht took place in 1988, but it is really nothing more than your typical kidnap gone wrong. What makes is so much better than any other film like this, is the way the Coens inject their own brand of humour throughout as well as giving the story a couple of unique twists.

William H Macy is simply brilliant as the car salesman put under pressure to recoup the money he has stolen from his work, and Steve Buscemi steals the whole film as part of the hapless duo who agree to kidnap his wife for ransom.
Frances Mcdormand does a great job as the sheriff of the small town of Fargo, but her relationship with her husband is not what you would call typical...

If you haven't seen Fargo yet, you absolutely must rent this now. If you have, then you already know why this film is definitely one to catch again.

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14 out of 16 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 5.0 stars
Yah, a really great movie, you betcha.

Goose from North Lincolnshire, 11th April, 2004

Put simply this is my favourite film of all time and i've watched many.

This film is one of the few films made since 1990 to feature in the 'American Film Institutes' Top 100 films of all time. Critically acclaimed films such as Pulp Fiction and Goodfellas appear lower in the table than this gem.

Rightly so, this film combines comedy, drama, action with superb performances by Frances McDormand (Oscar winning), Steve Buscemi and William H Macy.

Beautifully shot in the snowy wastelands of Minnesota/North Dakota this story tells of a financially troubled car salesman (hilariously played by Oscar nominated Macy) who will stop at nothing to clear his debts, even at the expense of his family.

The Coen brothers at their best.

Rent it if you're unsure..... then buy it and enjoy forever.

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Most recent reviews

Rated 2.0 stars
Good film/Bad film

A Customer from London, 8th March, 2010

Didn’t enjoy this too much at the time because its essential premise seemed to be that everyone who lives in a small town is a monosyllabic hick, but in retrospect the film does have some redeeming features. Francis McDormand was the highlight of the film, with her homespun philosophies that life is good despite its problems, and the final scene between her and her husband is a sweet one. Also the contrasting silence and loquacity between the bumbling villains Peter Stormare and Steve Buscemi was a pleasure to watch. Perhaps it wasn’t such a bad film after all?

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Rated 5.0 stars
Coen classic

Duzzbob from , 1st March, 2010

As an avid fan of the Coen brothers films, this is one film that I can watch over and over. It's one of those 'simple plan goes wrong' kind of films, but its so well written and acted by all involved that it is an instant classic, and to this day (2010) still the Coens best film. The film is set in snowy Minnesota where the locals accents are partly scandanavian and not much happens. William H Macy is brilliantly tragic as the desperate used-car salesman, with Steve Buscemi & Peter Stormare both funny and violent as the thugs hired to kidnap his wife. However the film belongs to Frances McDormand as the pregnant Chief of Brainerd police who has to uncover the mess made the above characters. She deservedly won the best actress award for her Marge Gunderson - as the Coens created a classic heroin and a film worthy of 5 stars.

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