Fargo (1996)

Film: Fargo

Director: Coen Brothers

Country: USA

Released: March 1996

Runtime: 98 minutes

Genre: Crime Drama

Studio: Gramercy Pictures, Working Title

Influenced: Martin McDonagh, Paul Thomas Anderson, Greta Gerwig, Rian Johnson, Noah Hawley

Brothers Joel and Ethan Coen had released a series of genre experiments up to and including Fargo, trying their hand at the hard boiled detective film (Blood Simple), crime caper (Raising Arizona), gangster movie (Miller's Crossing), film noir (Barton Fink) and screwball comedy (The Hudsucker Proxy). Fargo was another unique genre experiment, mixing dark comedy and "true crime" drama, and set in a part of America that had rarely featured on screen. Minnesota becomes a character of its own in Fargo, the singsong dialect of its natives serving up a novel experience for audiences of the time. Despite the film's Minnesota setting, much of it was actually shot in North Dakota owing to better snow conditions during filming. Going back to the Midwest, and its unique cadences, phrases and mannerisms, was like a homecoming for the Coen brothers. 

The story revolves around Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy), a desperate car salesman in Minneapolis who hires two criminals, Carl Showalter (Steve Buscemi) and Gaear Grimsrud (Peter Stormare), to kidnap his wife, Jean (Kristin Rudrüd), in a scheme to extort money from his wealthy father-in-law. The plan goes awry when a series of unfortunate and darkly comic events unfolds, ultimately leading to a trail of murder and deception. Pregnant police officer Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) is assigned to investigate the bizarre series of crimes, against the backdrop of a snowy, picturesque Minnesota landscape. One thing that marks out many Coen Brothers films is the quality of the casting, and McDormand is perfectly suited to the role of Marge, capturing her simplicity but also her professionalism and resourcefulness. Likewise, Buscemi produces a comic tour de force and the performance of a lifetime, while Macy's acting is also sublime. Apparently Macy had to beg the Coen Brothers to be given the role, and he was right to insist – his performance as Jerry captures the blankness of his character to perfection.

Barry Sonnenfeld had initially been the cinematographer of choice for the Coens, but from Barton Fink (1991) onwards the brothers partnered with the legendary Roger Deakins. In Fargo, Deakins depicts with careful precision the desolate landscape of the Midwest. The initial idea for Fargo came from a real-life case in which a Japanese woman was found dead in Minnesota, but the Coen Brothers took creative liberties and developed their own narrative. The disclaimer at the beginning of the film, claiming that it's a true story, is entirely fictional and was only added for ironic effect. In this way and others, Fargo subverts traditional crime film tropes, injecting humour into the most dire of situations. There's a running joke throughout the film that Carl is kind of "funny-lookin'" when people have to describe him to police officers, and even in the darkest of scenes there's an element of comedy. 

Early in the film, when Marge and her partner have to assess the crime scene, Marge is asked, "You seeing something down there, Chief", and replies, "No, I just think I'm gonna barf". The duck stamp artists, the Hautmans, who Marge's husband Norm competes against in the film actually existed and were friends of the Coens. Even the horrific, unforgettable woodchipper scene near the end of the film has a moment of black comedy, when we see Carl's leg sticking out the top. Another memorable scene is the climactic confrontation between Jerry and Marge, which not only underscores the film's themes of morality and consequences, but also highlights Marge's tenacity and decency. Fargo received widespread critical acclaim and won two Oscars, for McDormand as Best Actress in a Leading Role and the Coen Brothers for Best Original Screenplay. The film also won the Palme d'Or at Cannes and was nominated for several other awards, including Best Picture and Best Director at the Oscars.