Fargo

A masterpiece. IMHO the Coens best work and one of the finest films of all time. Fargo is a brilliant 'true' crime noir thriller that underpins several twists and turns, frequent occurances of grizzly violence and a frozen cold exterior with the beautiful beating heart and warmth of it's leading lady. Jerry (William H Macy) is a car salesman who has got himself in an (undisclosed) financial pickle and concocts a crazy scheme to see low rent lowlives Carl (Steve Buscemi) and Gaear (Peter Stormare) kidnap his wife Jean (Kristin Rudrud), enabling Jerry to extort ransom funds from his grumpy father in law Wade (Harve Presnell). As is the want of a noir narrative, things go very wrong, which brings heavily pregnant Brainerd, Minnesota Police Chief Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) on the scene to investigate. Marge is what elevates Fargo a step above your standard crime thriller, which are frequently long on thrills but short on hope. Frances McDormand envelops Marge with a true warmth, genuine credibility and downhome positivity that is impossible not to fall for. Despite her homespun accent and seemingly small town demeanour she is incredibly capable at her job, whittling away at the case in her own way until it is cracked. It feels corny to type this, but you can genuinely see a pregnancy glow about her (despite McDormand not actually being pregnant). In addition to McDormand's remarkable turn, the film is blessed with career best performances from William H Macy and Steve Buscemi. Macy perfectly encapsulates the nervous energy of a man whose world is crumbling as the weight of his lies inevitably crush him. Buscemi as the short stature and shorter trigger 'funny lookin' thug is hilarious, his 'fountain of converstation' speech will make you audibly LOL. The chill of the surrounds is felt within every frame of Roger Deakins camera and Carter Burwell provides a majestic score that will sit with you for some time. This has every single person involved working at the top of their game. I first saw this in 96 with my Mum at the Alice Springs cinema. I loved it then at age 15 and continue to love to this day. One of the very best films you will ever see. 327/1001 - 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die