Today’s IMDB Top 250 Guest Review comes from Cara of Silver Screen Serenade. Thanks for being a part of this project, Cara! (and Happy Blogiversary). đ Now let’s see what she has to say about Fargo, IMDB rank 127 out of 250…
There are still some movies up for grabs if anyone wants to do a guest IMDB Top 250 review. You can find the list of remaining films HERE. See the full list & links to all the reviews that have already been done HERE.
I have a confession to make: Iâm not a huge fan of the Coen brothers. Iâll pause to let the many, horrified gasps die downâŚ
Everybody good? Because yep. I said it.
Admittedly, I havenât seen all of their allegedly best stuff (i.e. The Big Lebowski, No Country for Old Men, Inside Llewyn Davis, etc.), but what I have seen has gotten a mostly âmehâ reaction out of meâthe one exception being O Brother, Where Art Thou?, which I find quite wonderful. But I wanted to watch Fargo because I was very curious about the FX series based on the film (and starring Martin Freeman, whom I adore). So when Miss Mutantâs list popped up and Fargo was a choice, I snatched it up. Was it a worthy choice? Letâs talk about that, shall we?
Fargo (1996)
Directed by Joel Coen
Starring:
Frances McDormand
William H. Macy
Steve Buscemi
Harve Presnell
Peter Stormare
Music by Carter Burwell
Running time: 98 minutes
Plot synopsis: (via IMDb)
Jerry Lundegaardâs inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmenâs bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson.
What I liked:
- The accents. They. Crack. Me. Up. I donât know what it is about Northern Midwest American accents, but I find them completely hilarious. I think it stems from my longtime love of the movie Drop Dead Gorgeous. Have you guys seen that? Itâs wonderful. Or maybe only I think itâs wonderful. Whatever. Point is, the accents in Fargo are just as funny.
- The actors. William H. Macy as bumbling, seemingly nice guy Jerry Lundegaard, Steve Buscemi as lusty, overly talkative henchman Carl Showalter, and Frances McDormand as clever, very pregnant police officer Marge Gunderson. Itâs a bizarre cast of quirky characters, and theyâre all fantastic.
- Not only are many of the individual characters great, but the relationships are great, too. Marge and her husband, Norm (John Carroll Lynch), have the most adorable marriage ever. Tough Marge goes to work to keep the town safe while easy-going Norm enters painting competitions. They have meals togetherâbig meals since pregnant Marge is constantly hungry. They fall asleep watching TV. Then thereâs Carl and his strong, silent partner, Gaear. Definitely not as cohesive a relationship (as anyone who has seen the end of this film knows), but theyâre a pretty funny odd couple. There are a lot of opposites like these in the film, and it works well.
- The setting. There are more snow-covered scenes than you could possibly think to count, and it gives the film a very unique vibe. This is a place dominated by winter for a good portion of the year, and it shows.
- The fact that some of these things actually happened. Fargo makes a big show of proclaiming itself a âtrue storyâ during the opening scene, which is embellishingâthe plot and the characters are completely imagined. However, some of the events are taken from real-life, reminding us what a bizarre world we live inâŚ
- The wood chipper scene. Gruesome and severely twisted, butâŚlol.
What I didnât like:
- Aside from Marge, it seems like no one in this town has more than a brain cell apiece. I realize this is supposed to be for comedic effectsâand there are several moments when itâs very funnyâbut câmonâŚno one else is even remotely intelligent? It seems like there ought to be at least a couple more characters in there who arenât brain-dead.
- A person gets shot in the head, and itâs very âeww.â
- Thereâs a very random, very bizarre scene involving a hotel room hook-up. Itâs supposed to be funny, and I guess it kind of is, but part of me couldnât help thinking, âWait, what purpose does this scene have?â And dovetailing off of thatâŚ
- At one point, Marge meets up with an old high school buddy, and things get downright awkward. Again, the scene is so random and unnecessary that I was a little confused about why it made it into the film in the first place. Stuff like this happens so often in Coen films. In fact, can we just all agree to start calling throw-in scenes like this a âCoen?â
- The ending. Marge gives a great speech toward the end that I fully expected to be followed by the closing credits, but the film goes on a bit longer, making you think maybe itâs leading to something moreâŚand then it ends. Itâs a bit of a letdown. Coen films do that a lot, too, donât they? Hmm. At this rate, weâre going to have to start calling a lot of things a âCoen.â
Summary:
Despite my qualms, I did enjoy this film. Itâs a quirky, funny crime film that is bursting with personality, and it certainly doesnât hurt that the performances are superb. Plus, the âtrue eventsâ aspect of this film adds an interesting layerâeven if the truth is super stretched. I still donât like this one better than O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and I think I actually might prefer FXâs Fargo series to this, but Iâd still say this film is worth a watch.
My Rating: 8/10 (Probably an A- or so on my rating system)
Thanks for letting me partake, Mutant! Youâre the coolest!