Review: Fargo (1995)

Fargo is one of those special films that someone can see dozens of times, and still find something new in it each time.

The Coen Brother's trademark dry wit and sarcasm comes across brilliantly in this darkly humorous satire of American culture and mannerisms. It takes the tried and true 'get rich quick' scheme and deconstructs it with razor sharp precision, turning it into a delightfully dry farce. The direction fights the screenplay perfectly, complimenting Deakins' stark photography of the frigid rural Minnesota winter, often juxtaposing the efforts of the characters with extreme wide shots, causing the blanket of snow and ice to completely dwarf them, placing their greed-driven pursuits into the proper prospective, and highlighting the temporal, ultimately pointless results of their goal.

Standing as a beacon of logic and down to earthness in this quirky world however, is Francis McDormand's Academy Award winning performance as folksy, no nonsense police officer Marge Gunderson, who dutifully investigates the increasingly illogical crime with a sense of aplomb, even in the face of the sheer absurdity of everything. Her bubble of optimism and steadfastness never bursts, nor does she feel like a naive do-gooder. Rather, she just wishes to view the world as half-full, and stands as an interesting counterpoint to Tommy Lee Jones' guilt ridden, down trodden sheriff in No Country for Old Men, which almost stands a more brutal, cynical mirror to Fargo's more sarcastic take on the themes of greed and the lengths of which people will go to satisfy it.

William H. Macy gives an utterly memorable performance as the ineptly scheming, greedy and high strung Jerry Lundergaard. His voice a nasally whine, his constant fidgety movements, and inept attempts at satisfying his selfish greed help make him one of the most memorable characters in the Coen's canon. He constantly tries to act like a know-it all, only to completely fold and turn tail at the first sign of something going wrong. His scheme, a comically complex attempt at milking several hundred thousand dollars out of his grumpy, bitter father by having his own wife kidnapped and running off with the ransom money, is shown for what it is: a greedy, selfish, pointless, ultimately futile gesture, swiftly spinning out his control from the very instant he implements it. And it's hilarious. Its almost as if the universe itself is working against him, as every carefully planned backup plan and attempt at salvaging it is swiftly wrecked by his own quivering selfishness and inability to avoid deceptions.

Steve Buscemi is, of course, perfect as the motor-mouth co-kidnapper of Lundegaard's wife, who seemingly thinks he's some sort of criminal mastermind, is also quickly revealed to be an easily spooked, all bark, no bite fool whose inability to keep his mouth shut steadily digs his own grave. He so obviously thinks he is in control, but his control is only temporary, and just like Macy's used car salesman, the world takes his schemes, and plays with them, picking them apart with his own blind greed.

Peter Stormare is chilling as the completely soulless, dead eyed, Swedish partner-in-crime, who serves as a somewhat more comic take on the classic cold blooded sociopath villains that the Coen's do so well. Like Bardem in No Country for Old Men, Stormare's character has zero empathy, and treats everyone around him as if they're existence and his interaction with them is a heavy burden he has to carry. His cold bloodiness (demonstrated by his decapitation of Buscemi and shooting of Lundegaard's wife for the crime of sobbing and stuffing their bodies in a wood chipper in one of the film's most iconic scenes) is contrasted by his seeming squeamishness at getting an infection from a bite sustained while kidnapping a woman, is darkly comic, and I find it one of the most hilarious moments.

The music of Carter Burwell is marvelous, an emotive elegy as the main theme, and icy strings complimenting shots of an equally icy winter landscape help contribute to the aura of the film, and help provide an emotional center to the film. Its possibly my favorite scores of his.

So, in the end, Fargo is one of the best films of the 1990s. Its a memorable, comedic look at rural America, through a delightfully sarcastic lens.

Five out of five for me.