davidholdaway-nl
This has to be the very WORST type of movie .. ridiculous slapstick ..
It's full of actors playing real dumb idiots .. but the idiots they are portraying are actually like the typical real American .. and yes I know a lot of Americans.
It was so bad I actually stayed watching it to try to see where the good ratings came from ,, reaching the end without a clue. The only possibility is that the only people rating this film were all Americans.
andrewroy-04316
Fargo does a great job of both capturing the midwestern attitude and creating a realistic drama. The acting performances and script are excellent, making all scenes feel realistic. No parts of the movie blow you away, but basically no mistakes are made and everything serves a purpose. Character-driven with a suspenseful enough plot, Fargo is a solid movie.
Davis P
Fargo (1996) is a Cohen Brothers film, starring Frances McDormand and William H. Macy. I watched this film because of McDormand mainly, she's just such a great actress and I knew anything with her in a starring role would surely be great. And I was 100% right, Francs McDormand does not disappoint one bit as the lead, Margie, who's a Minnesota police officer. She is investigating a case of three homicides, and it turns out to be attached to something much bigger. William H. Macy plays a man who is trying to come into some money, he hires two men to kidnap his wife and arranges for his very wealthy father in law to pay the ransom. The performances in this film are top notch, Macy and McDormand give it their all. The writing is great too, the dialogue for each character suits them perfectly. It's so great to see a film with both great acting and smart writing. The ending is especially well done. The Cohen Brothers hardly ever make a bad film, and this one is just of the examples of that being true. Fargo gets a 9/10. Definitely on my must watch list.
tylerduswalt
Fargo is a product of the Coen brothers at their best. It claims to be a true story, although it is very loosely based on an actual crime, and the claim is more of a way for the Coen brothers to present their film with a tongue-in-cheek forewarning that the absurdity you are about to witness is entirely factual. The film's tagline is "a homespun murder story," yet the film has much more merit and value to it than this humble statement suggests. Comprised of a network of simpletons way in over their heads in what was supposed to be a relatively victimless crime, Fargo's claim to be unsophisticated speaks more to the incompetence of those involved in the staged kidnapping of Jean Lundegaard than the film itself. The movie seamlessly blends excessive violence, dark humor, apathy, satire, sadism, copious snow, Minnesota accents, and more without misstepping. This is a testament to the film's incredibly high quality: incorporating these elements and striking a balance in them is certainly a difficult task. Joel and Ethan Coen took extraordinary risks to translate their vision to screen, and their bold decisions certainly paid off.
Jerry Lundegaard, a car salesman with an increasingly apparent lack of empathy, begins as our protagonist. He's played by William H. Macy, who perfectly portrays an afraid man who constantly tries to worm his way out of situations created by an ill-thought out plan. Jerry only wants the "ransom" money without any trouble, but as murders begin popping all over the map up by the hands of Carl Showalter (Steve Buscemi) and Gaear Grimsrud (Peter Stormare), starting due to Carl's lack of tags on the tan Sierra, there is a shift in who steps into the role of protagonist: Marge Gunderson, a chief officer late in her pregnancy played by Frances McDormand. What makes McDormand's character so enticing, besides her oscar-winning performance, is how she's against people and motives she doesn't understand. After the shocking wood-chipper scene, she handcuffs Gaear and begs the question: how can a man give up the rest of his life and take away so many others' lives for a bit of money? Materialism is a common theme here, as it is what triggers this disastrous series of events. We see Jerry lie both in and out of the workplace, and, whether his words are directed to a customer or his loved ones, they always sound like a sales pitch with a hint of desperation. As the scheme becomes more convoluted and things become traceable to him, he finds it harder to bide his time.
A part of what makes this movie so original is how it uses humor to bring light to a very dark ordeal. Minnesota accents aside, the Coen brothers create hilarious exchanges between simple folk so that there's a "yer dern tootin'" or an "aw heck" for every killing at the hands of Stormare's expressionless mute or Buscemi's inept loudmouth. You are allowed to laugh at the misfortune because the film is essentially as unsympathetic as its characters. It's hard to refrain from finding someone like Carl and his spewing frustration hilarious, despite his and Gaear's awful deeds. The dialogue is perfectly tailored to the setting and to each person, and you'll find that remarks are often repeated in scenes, getting only funnier each time ("we're not a bank, Jerry;" "he's kinda funny lookin'"). Characters discuss the best buffets around, pancakes, homicide, loneliness, and faxes, all complemented by a gorgeous soundtrack and backdrop filled with a plethora of snow and tire tracks. No character is without value to the film (even Mike Yanagita, who helps Margie realize Jerry may be lying to her); Norm Gunderson is a shining example of the 3-cent stamp whose purpose is to keep the 29-cent stamp balanced, happy, and thriving. Fargo is in master-class territory, a film begging for its viewers to find themselves past that Paul Bunyan statue once again to revisit its snowy, violent, simple offerings, and I couldn't recommend it more to any appreciative moviegoer.
