Fargo

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Fargo

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Fargo

Frances McDormand, Harve Presnell, John Carroll, John Carroll Lynch, Jose Feliciano, Kristin Rudrud, Peter Stormare, Steve Buscemi, Steve Park, William H. Macy

Filmmaking siblings Joel Coen and Ethan Coen both embraced and poked satirical fun at their rural Minnesota roots with this comedy-drama-thriller that earned seven Oscar nominations, winning for Best ...( read more  read more... )Actress and Best Original Screenplay. Frances McDormand stars as Marge Gunderson, a pregnant police chief whose affable, folksy demeanor masks a whip-smart mind. When a pair of motorists are found slain not far from the corpse of a state trooper, Marge begins piecing together a case involving a pair of dopey would-be kidnappers, Carl (Steve Buscemi) and Gaear (Bergman stock player Peter Stormare). They've been hired by Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy), a car salesman under the thumb of his wealthy, overbearing boss and father-in-law, Wade (Harve Presnell). Jerry's raised some money illegally through a petty scam he's run on General Motors and he's about to get caught. When Wade sours a business deal that could save his son-in-law's hide, the desperate Jerry hires Carl and Gaear to kidnap his wife and hold her for ransom. Things go predictably wrong and a series of murders occur, with Marge, waddling along behind her enormous belly and ever-hungering for an all-you-can-eat buffet, hot on the trail of the killers. Although the credits for Fargo state that the film is loosely based on real events, the story is entirely fictional, the claim being just an ironic jibe on the part of the Coens.~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Id: 10904678

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Fargo Recent Reviews
  • SirPant
    September 3, 2009
    SirPant
    The story is beautifully simple, but its the characters and the actors performances that make this film so brilliant. It's easily McDormand's best to date. The best thing about this film is that when it came out cinema was going through a bit of a stale patch but when Fargo came ...( read more)out, they really raised the game and between 96 and 99, so many instant classic were produced. I really do think the Coen brothers are due credit for that, although they themselves are still on top of their game and untouchable.
  • irisheyes686
    September 2, 2009
    irisheyes686
    Funny movie. Macy really got on my nerves, but otherwise I really enjoyed it.
  • organgrinder136
    August 2, 2009
    organgrinder136
    seen it a load of times and again recently. i think this is my favourite coen brothers film. it just seems so natural. you could believe it was real, even though it wasn't a true story. haha! tell that to the woman who came all the way from tokyo to fargo to try find and dig up t...( read more)he money. william h. macy does some awesome acting as the nervous car salesman. i always like watching frances act and there's something disturbingly comforting about watching her and john carroll lynch as husband and wife in their home life. it's the safety blanket from steve buscemi's hitman character... and don't forget peter stormare's mr talkative
  • mrpopcorn
    July 29, 2009
    mrpopcorn
    "A homespun murder story."

    Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of pregnant Marge Gunderson.

    REVIEW

    Dark comic u...( read more)ndertones and excellent character actor performances dominate this richly macabre crime story gone awry flick by the Coen brothers(Joel and Ethan) involving pathetic used car salesman Macy so hard up for money and respect (not necessarily in that order) that he hires a pair of dim-witted thugs to kidnap his wife for ransom from his father-in-law's vast wealth in a plot-line that unravels with nice little twists and snags. McDormand (Best Actress) is perfect as a pregnant Midwestern sheriff on the case with a no-nonsense and homespun effect with her tactics of crime solving. Great cinematography by Roger A. Deakins accentuates the bleak winterscape of unearthed uneasiness. Nominated for Best Supporting Actor Macy, Best Director, Best Cinematography and Academy Award winner for Best Original Screenplay.
  • 76Majikat
    February 6, 2009
    76Majikat
    A watchable film with some good characters.
  • rayld02
    December 4, 2009
    rayld02
    It was a cold winter day. The sun was obscure, hiding unfathomably behind the mysterious skies of the North. Music was playing strikingly with a pale blue screen. A car was spotted approaching. Music continued to stage the anguish and pain. It said "Fargo" implying the title.

    In...( read more) a club, three men were dappled business talking; the mastermind Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy), the funny looking Carl Showalter (Steve Buscemi), and the big psychopath guy Graear Grimsrud (Peter Stormare). Business was a crime. They were talking about kidnapping Jerry's wife Jean (Kristin Rudrud) for them to have the ransom money worth 80,000 USD from Jean?s father Wade (Harve Presnell).

    From it, a branch of conflicting events took place because of characters are bit kind of morons. So the film turned out to be a thriller comedy with a touch of dramatic ending. It was a predictable in a sense that you know that there are the bad guys, and the good girl who was later revealed in the middle of the film as Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand), a small time police woman who investigated the series of killings.

    "Fargo" tells a story of a series of crimes that took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota somewhere in the late 80's. The criminals were two low profile murder practitioners and their mastermind, a salesman.

    The movie was fast pacing in a way that surely you will get acquainted to the characters in the simplest manner. Some of them are idiotic. Best example is Jerry Lundegaard that despite of his simple but sure plans has done nothing to defend himself at the end of the film. Another is Carl (Buscemi) that always talks but has little brain.

    The most horrifying of all the characters in this film would probably be Graear (Stormare). He set the thrill into semi maximum with his character being a psychopath. You do not know exactly what he was thinking but, by the sign on his face always had an implication that there was something not good that was going to happen. Is a certain part of the film, we knew his nature when he was shot with camera zooming in into close up. That is when we know that he was a dangerous man capable of doing anything when he got stressed and irritated.



    Every time Marge Gunderson is introduced in shots, it is always dramatic. Her character sets the drama in parts that need be tackled with great stupendous emotions; a tough girl with a real big heart. Example is in their bedroom where she and his husband were sleeping, the camera was first panning on to inanimate things found there. Simultaneously, it is scored with a striking music.

    There was a big problem with Jerry Lundegaard in the film. He does not love his wife. All he ever wanted from her was her family's money. In a restaurant scene where Wade and Jerry were talking about the ransom, the cashier girl greeted Jerry, "How was everything today?" He answered back, "Yah! Real good now." He looked at Wade as the latter pushed his way out the restaurant and Jerry said to the cashier again, "How yah doin?" This was real short scene but the impact was great for all throughout the film. Because it shows that Jerry does not love his wife and could easily fall for another girl.



    Violence in this film is casual. You will get to see people shot in the head a lady put in a raging shredder head first.

    Tracking shots are used to describe movement. Low camera angles are used for the murderer to imply superiority among the victims. Instead of using close camera shots in murder scenes, they used a distant witness' view that made a cinematic appeal to those shots.

    Frances McDormand is a good actress. She does comedy and drama and mixed them well in this movie. "Fargo" is a good movie to watch. If you liked any of Coen Brothers" films like "No Country for Old Men", I think this film you surely don't want to miss. It is cinema, not a pure drama.
  • 0001hrs
    November 22, 2009
    0001hrs
    I just love the simplicity of the script.
  • SFG71
    November 16, 2009
    SFG71
    15-11-09
    "A homespun murder story."
    Very american movie.I cannot see anything special about it.
    An ordinary story without suspense.Moreover,They behave weirdly as if they were aliens,the way they talk, act, walk especially the officer with her husband.
  • AC1991
    November 15, 2009
    AC1991
    As a fan of many of the other films by the Coen Brother's, I was eagerly anticipating watching this film. Maybe their recent films that I have seen made me build it up to be more than it was. Due to this, or maybe just the fact of the film, I wasn't as impressed as I was expectin...( read more)g to be. I found 'No Country For Old Men' a lot more enjoyable to watch. But saying this they are aimed at slightly different genres. Yes, both have plenty of blood and killing in but 'Fargo' is more of a comedy. This is perhaps why I did not enjoy it as much as I thought I was going to.
    After seeing 'Fargo' once and not being completely impressed I am going to give it a second go, going into it this time with a different mentality and expectation for it than I had gone into it previously.
  • uberbeard
    November 13, 2009
    uberbeard
    A very hard film to watch, but a brilliant dark comedy.
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