Fargo
On March 8, 1996, The Coen Brothers’ 6th film Fargo, was released theatrically. The main setting of the movie is the perpetually subzero town of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and your characters are almost exact small town, twin peaks-y, folksy murder mystery novel stereotypes in all the best ways. On the first appearance of the protagonist, Jerry Lundegard (William H. Macy), he is portrayed as a sort of clean-cut and average fatherly type. The film then completely subverts that, and shows him walking into the shadiest looking Fargo, North Dakota bar you’ve ever seen. At this bar, he rendezvous with our villains. The quirky and restless Carl Showalter (Steve Buscemi) and hulking swede Gaear Grimsrud (Peter Stormare). As you listen to the less than kosher conversation taking place, it is revealed that Jerry has hired these men to abduct his wife, hoping to win some ransom money from her wealthy father. $80,000 asked for under the guise of a kidnapping. $40,000 for the thugs, $40,000 for Jerry. Offering up his car (A tan Ciara) as well as the promised cash, Jerry seems eager to be done with the discussion, and doesn’t even slightly hint at what he may need the money for. This obviously isn’t a deal breaker for Carl and Gaear, who accept the deal. Jerry returns to his home in the morning, greets his wife (Kristen Rudrud), and says an awkward hello to his Father in law, Wade Gustafson (Harve Presnell). Macy and Presnell play this scene very well, clearly showing Jerry’s nerves towards his father in law, and Wade’s condescension towards Jerry. One of my favorite parts about this movie is how vague the plot set up is. That can be a tricky thing to do and they pull it off expertly. If this brief description of the opening scene was shown to someone who knew nothing about the movie, the chances of them guessing where the plot goes seem very unlikely. The escalation is everything. Part of the reason the plot works so well is how well written Jerry’s character is. The quick pipeline from bumbling Minnesota idiot, to a man so desperate, he’s willing to put his family in danger, is something very similar to walking a character writing tight-rope. It could’ve gone awry in many different ways, but is pulled off so smoothly. I consider the theme of this movie to be greed, and always wanting more than you already have. Lundegard’s character shows one side of this coin, while police chief Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand), displays the other side. Marge is shown to be in a boring marriage, with a boring small town cop job where nothing ever happens, and the worst part is that she is constantly exposed to what her life could be. Especially when speaking with an old high school friend, Mike Yanagita. Marge is tempted quite constantly, but does not give in to her discontent, for better or for worse. Another theme that is touched on quite well is humanity and blurred morality. One of my favorite small details in the movie is food. Characters, villains and “good guys” alike, share meals quite often. It seems like a small detail, but it does a really good job of humanizing all of the characters. The film can get quite absurdist at times, especially with some of the more gorey parts, but the reminder that everyone is just human, combined with the layer of greed and how it drives humans to do these absurd things, is just so perfectly done. Fargo is one of the few movies out there, that perfectly expresses humanity intertwined with greed and the desire for more, and if the writing alone is that good, you’re in for a beautiful punch in the face regarding the amazing cinematography, score, and production design. Definitely some of Joel and Ethan Coen’s best work, and a beautiful film inside and out.