Fargo (1996)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Albert K

  
  Fargo is absolutely incredible. Every scene is captured with so many layers and layers of emotion and wit. A must watch.

• Jens S

  
  The most absurd and crazy stories are still written by life itself. This is based on a real crime happening in Minnesota in the 1980s. Of course the Coen brothers find the right tone to tell this tale of greed, stupidity and violence. Sometimes you're not sure whether you're… More
  The most absurd and crazy stories are still written by life itself. This is based on a real crime happening in Minnesota in the 1980s. Of course the Coen brothers find the right tone to tell this tale of greed, stupidity and violence. Sometimes you're not sure whether you're supposed to laugh or shake your head and end up doing both. The cast is excellent, especially William H. Macy as a man who is in way over his head and Frances McDormand as pregnant police woman, who's a lot smarter than she seems and gives the not very flattering portrayal of the local people a lovable face. As things get more and more dire, she is the beacon of common sense and humanity in midst of a circle of crime that goes further and further down the spiral. McDorman deserved her Oscar for that, just like the brilliant, funny, realistic and gloomy script. Probably the best Coens film of the 90s.

• Candy R

  
  A pregnant cop investigates a series of murders when a kidnapping goes horribly wrong. Violent dark comedy. Good cast. Despite the opening intro, this is not a true story.

• Eric A

  
  Crazy, but my lord is it entertaining. One of the best film's of the 90's.

• Unknown H

  
  Again the Coen Bros do what they do best and deliver a deliciously dark black comedy. Frances McDormand has to be one of my favourite actress' and does not fail to deliver in Fargo, which is one of my faves from the Bros.

• shahmeer h

  
  When I first heard of Fargo, I thought from all these reviews that it was a comedy. When I read the genre, it told me it was a crime-thriller. And before I watched it on Epix, I learned it was a dark comedy. Then I thought I was gonna hate this movie, for the film "A Serious… More
  When I first heard of Fargo, I thought from all these reviews that it was a comedy. When I read the genre, it told me it was a crime-thriller. And before I watched it on Epix, I learned it was a dark comedy. Then I thought I was gonna hate this movie, for the film "A Serious Man" was a dark-comedy and was also directed by the Coen brothers, was a complete and utter failure to me. But I soon came to realize something during the film; this movie is amazing. It started as a comedy, in which the laughs were very dark and enjoyable, then grew into a problematic drama, which grew into a crime film, and then quickly into a thriller. All the genres that I expected were in the film, but never was my first thought about it. Fargo is a film that surprised me completely. Winning two academy awards (Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay), Fargo is an exciting adventure to watch. Based in small cities of Minnesota, Fargo is about a car salesman who tries to buy an investment on a parking lot. He needs money, so he decides to hire two thugs to kidnap his wife and ask for ransom from her father (who is extremely wealthy) so he can get the money to invest. But not all goes as planned, and murder, lying, robbery, and much more occur in the events that happen afterwards. Joel and Ethan always seem to make me happy (besides "A Serious Man"), and not many directors can do that. The Acting was very well done, and I disagree with the Academy at not giving William H. Macy a nomination for Best Lead Actor, let alone not giving him a win for Best Supporting Actor. I believe his acting was better than Francis McDormand's, although she did deserve her win. Steve Beschumi also played his part as a villain well, as he always does. The Cinematography of this film was good. But I am also upset with the Academy for not giving this film a nomination for the score, which was excellent. It was perfect for the film, and fit the scenes well. If I heard this score again, I'd know it was from Fargo. The film really revolves around the characters alot in the film, and I give much respect for the film. The different character's lives and feelings were depicted in a very different way, with scenes that just brought happiness, terror, or humor to the eyes of the character's, and the audiences. But, there were little parts in the film that I didn't like, starting with some unnecessary scenes. There were amounts of sex in the film which didn't need to be there, and some scenes that didn't make any sense. And then there was the fact that the police officer was pregnant, which brought a few laughs to the film, but no actual meaning to the plot. That's really all. All in all, this was a film that should be viewed by any happy, mature audience, and should be praised highly by any open-minded movie goer. If you still didnt't understand why i gave this film the rating it got, please visit the link below: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/user/935623/blogs/?id=703501

• Liam G

  
  The way Fargo's plot unravels is executed masterfully by the Coen brothers. Terrific dialogue, characters and performances feature in this fantastic crime dramaedy of sorts.

• AJ V

  
  This cult classic is an hilarious black comedy full of action, suspense, and drama. I loved it, and I highly recommend it.

• Conner R

  
  Sometimes, a lot of the time actually, I seem to forget how good of a movie Fargo truly is. I think a lot of movies that are deemed "Cult Classics" tend to warrant high expectations. When I first saw Fargo, I didn't really know what it was that made people so nuts over… More
  Sometimes, a lot of the time actually, I seem to forget how good of a movie Fargo truly is. I think a lot of movies that are deemed "Cult Classics" tend to warrant high expectations. When I first saw Fargo, I didn't really know what it was that made people so nuts over it. I think a lot of what makes Fargo great is when you aren't expecting something from it. It works a lot better as just a movie, not one with a ton of baggage. Much like The Usual Suspects, it was one of the most over-exposed movies of the 90s. Both movies have suffered over the years for being just too popular for their own good and for the wrong reasons a lot of the time. Now, I think enough time has passed that everyone can sit down and watch Fargo how it was meant to be seen. Fargo essentially meshes crime, comedy, and drama all into one and makes a really unique effect with it. Most of the performances here are what makes it a comedy, the plot makes it indefinitely crime and the music sets a bizarre dramatic feeling that you don't see coming. William H. Macy, Frances McDormand and the rest of the Minnesota based characters are all over-played caricatures, earning them really funny moments where there might not otherwise be any. Those accents are completely ridiculous, but somehow it just fits into the whole nutball series of events. The plot is really interesting in that the movie zigzags around it rather than the other way around. Instead of introducing us to all the principle characters first, it takes us almost forty minutes to get around to our principle character. I think that takes away any sort of predictability away from the story; what happens, happens. The Coen Brothers definitely take a very interesting approach to the music in this, it just really has an amazing effect on setting the mood and bring emotional weight to what is happening. Now this, like all of the Coen Brother's movies, is extremely well shot and put together flawlessly. They are extremely talented writers/directors that seem to just get movies in a way that not many others do. You can tell they know film history like the backs of their hands and have the up most respect for the process. You can see how much time and effort is put into each of their movies and this is one of the prime examples of it. Everything you feel is meant to be felt and that is a kind of control that is hard to achieve.

• Steven C

  
  The Coen Brothers' comedies (and this is very much one of their comedies) always seem a bit insignificant in comparison to their dramas (like "No Country for Old Men" and "A Serious Man"). This is because they are concerned with the stupidity of people and… More
  The Coen Brothers' comedies (and this is very much one of their comedies) always seem a bit insignificant in comparison to their dramas (like "No Country for Old Men" and "A Serious Man"). This is because they are concerned with the stupidity of people and there is only so much one can do with that topic. "Burn After Reading" and "Intolerable Cruelty" are so fluffy that they could essentially evaporate in front of you. What saves "Fargo" from this fate is that it plays around, quite nicely, with expectation in truth and lie. That pesky "based on a true story' title card certainly mixes things up. "Fargo" also works as well as it does because of Frances McDormand, William H. Macy and Steve Buscemi's performances. They always remain real, pointed and hilarious. "Fargo" is a neat little movie that is full of wit and some interesting existential dilemmas.

• Melvin W

  
  Fargo is one of the Coens best movies. It is nearly flawless in the way it presents its story. Everyones heard about Frances McDormands Oscar winning performance and I think that overshadows the great performance by William H. Macy. His performance as Jerry Lundegaard is easily his… More
  Fargo is one of the Coens best movies. It is nearly flawless in the way it presents its story. Everyones heard about Frances McDormands Oscar winning performance and I think that overshadows the great performance by William H. Macy. His performance as Jerry Lundegaard is easily his best. The movie is a complete masterpiece on very conceivable level.

• Thomas B

  
  absofreakinglutely genius. fargo is one of my favourite films. with an explosive combination of action, comedy, gore, sex and suspense, joel and ethan coen have made a masterful film.

• Kase V

  
  A film that really has to be seen a few times to be greatly appreciated. Coen Brothers work their finest, and this might be, if not is, their best film (critically). But I enjoyed No Country for Old Men far more. It was much more entertaining in my opinion. Great writing, superb… More
  A film that really has to be seen a few times to be greatly appreciated. Coen Brothers work their finest, and this might be, if not is, their best film (critically). But I enjoyed No Country for Old Men far more. It was much more entertaining in my opinion. Great writing, superb acting, and direction that's second to none. But it sacrifices it's ability to captivate me throughout the entire movie, save for a few scenes (woodchipper, anyone?). If there was an option, I'd give it in between a 4 and 4.5.

• Jameson W

  
  A great film, but I find this film to be a little overrated. I really do like it alot and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but for some reason it was not as "masterful" as I was led to believe. However, the film is still a strong one, and is worthy of much praise. The cast was… More
  A great film, but I find this film to be a little overrated. I really do like it alot and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but for some reason it was not as "masterful" as I was led to believe. However, the film is still a strong one, and is worthy of much praise. The cast was brilliant. Frances McDormand, William H. Macy, and Steve Buscemi really carry this film to a new level. Buscemi gives a very memorable performance, as does Frances McDormand, but it seems like too small of a role for an actress to win in the Best Actress category. But it was a good performance nonetheless. William H. Macy was great, also. Funny, too! The accents were particularly humorous, ya. The cinematography was brilliant. But I expect nothing less from a Coen film. The thing that I was disappointed in was the story. First of all, it seemed too short. I felt like very little actually happened. An additional 30 minutes would have been nice. Also, the pacing was so fast and typical, that the film barely sets itself apart from any other movie. Also, the story was slightly predictable, so the moments that were meant to be intense really weren't all that intense. The intensity as whole was pretty flat. The last 20-30 minutes were great, but the whole time I just wasn't very connected to the story at all. Anyway, I still liked the film alot, but this is now the third popular Coen Bros. film that has slightly let me down. This one is the best of the three, but I was expecting so much more. I'd still recommend it to everyone. It's good!

• Brad W

  
  A truly dark and mysterious film.

• Dan S

  
  One of my favorites. The Coen Brothers insert clever and funny dialogue into a sick and twisted story about a shady car dealer (William H. Macy) who hires two thugs (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) to kidnap his wife so he can get her father to pay them the ransom - with the deal… More
  One of my favorites. The Coen Brothers insert clever and funny dialogue into a sick and twisted story about a shady car dealer (William H. Macy) who hires two thugs (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) to kidnap his wife so he can get her father to pay them the ransom - with the deal being that he and the thugs split the cash. This is simply a masterpiece. The performances are uniformly outstanding, and the film takes wise steps throughout its duration, as well as including an ending that will haunt you forever.

• Cynthia S

  
  My first introduction to William H. Macy. I have looked for movies with him in it ever since. This was the most hysterical movie that I still to this day mimic scenes from.

• Jeff "

  
  I remember the first time I saw Fargo. My dad convinced me to watch, kept telling me how great a film it was. He summarized the story, and needless to say, I thought it was weird, eccentric and totally screwed up. I HAD TO SEE IT! This was the type of film that I couldn't pass… More
  I remember the first time I saw Fargo. My dad convinced me to watch, kept telling me how great a film it was. He summarized the story, and needless to say, I thought it was weird, eccentric and totally screwed up. I HAD TO SEE IT! This was the type of film that I couldn't pass up. With a messed up story like, who would? Fargo is the tale of Jerry Lundergaard who conjures up a plot to get his wife kidnapped and hold have his father in law pay ransom. Only things go from bad to worse. Along with Raising Arizona, Fargo was the first Coen Brothers film that I had seen at that point. The brothers knack for creating something so bizarre and entertaining on screen pays off, and like most of their other films; after you've seen Fargo you can't easily forget it. Frances McDormand gives one of the greatest performances of her career as Sheriff Marge Gunderson. She has had an impressive resume of films and she's played very interesting characters, but in Fargo she really lights up the screen. The Coen Brothers have made one amazing film. Everything about this film is masterful. Whenever I watch something by the Coen Brothers, I always wonder where to they get their ideas from. I mean Fargo is a work of eccentric genius. Everything about the film is superbly well told, acted and directed. The film is absolutely flawless. As with every other films by the Coen Brothers, they always cast top notch actors to bring their eccentric vision to life. Along with Frances McDormand, William H. Macy portrays Jerry Lundergaard, the man hopelessly trying to get his wife kidnapped for ransom that he intends to split between two other guys who actually will carry out the kidnapping. Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare portray the kidnappers, and both are amusing as they're quit inept at what they're trying to do. Fargo is one of the best films that The Coen Brothers have made, and the film has everything that makes a Coen Bros film memorable, phenomenal cast, eccentric characters, darkly humourous overtones., and a bizarre storyline. Only the Coen Brothers could pull off a film like this. They're incredibly talented filmmakers and Fargo is one of their greatest achievements.

• MisterYoda ?

  
  4 stars

• Jay H

  
  There's little to criticize in this well-written, superbly-framed mystery/comedy whose northern Midwest setting along with brilliant performances from Macy and McDormand leave little to be desired. Absurdly fantastic.

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