What Makes "Fargo" Great.

Dark, twisted, and hilarious, Fargo finds The Coen Brothers up to their usual tricks in this black comedy-crime masterpiece.

The best thing about the Coen's approach to most of their films is bizarre circumstances usually centering around a McGuffin or item of importance, usually money. That is how the plot of this film on folds with desperate car salesman Jerry Lundegaard(William H.Macy) making a deal with a couple of stupid criminals(Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) to kidnap his own wife(Kristin Rudrud), in which they will split the take three ways in order for Jerry to pay off a 320,00 dollar loan. This is a strange set up to start with, and even the two hired criminals question the logic behind it, but they, of course, agree on the job. While things start off well with the criminals successfully kidnapping his wife, but a few murders later and the plan goes completely wrong, and the actions of the criminals attracts the attention of pregnant police chief Marge Gunderson(Frances McDormand), as she begins to put the pieces together that eventually lead her to the kidnappers and Jerry himself.

The Coens script is full of memorable interactions and characters. All the characters from major to minor have something to remember. McDormand's is amazing in her Oscar-winning role as the police officer you hope will pull you over of your speeding. She keeps this super nice and optimistic persona throughout most of the film. we can see through this personality that she has never encountered anything quite like the crime she's investigating. It is after all the middle of nowhere, but the Coens know that a setting in the middle of nowhere is a place where anything can happen with the open space all around. This makes the actions seen in the film more believable as in a place like New York this could be solved in a much shorter time because events in the film would be more obvious in a place full of people. The brutality of all this comes crashing down on her in probably the best scene in the movie when she is driving the quiet kidnapper to jail and all of her happy go lucky nature is replaces with sadness and disappointment that all of this death was done for something as simple as money. William H.Macy is also great playing a pathetic loser who is constantly pushed around throughout the film and watches in panic as the kidnapping plan goes horribly wrong. You almost feel bad for the guy as he is constantly pushed around by his stepfather (Harve Presnell), and his hired thugs. But despite that, he is still first and foremost a cowardly individual who has now one to blame but himself for his actions, and at the end when he tries to escape the police through a small window in a motel and pathetically cries when he is arrested signifies that this is all on him and he doesn't have the guts to take responsibilities for his mistakes. Buscemi and Stormare are also memorable, especially when they are together with Buscemi's fast-talking his way out of any situation style perfectly contrasts with the quieter, but a smarter and more sadistic partner, creating some very memorable interactions between the two. The dialogue with that distinct northern accent makes for some great interactions as well. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when an officer responds to a caller who has suspicious activities to report. This could have been such a basic handing out information scene, but the way he delivers his lines and tells the story is just so funny, "I thought I should call it in so...I called it in...End of story".

The cinematography by the amazing Roger Deakins is also great. His camera work really captures the freezing snow-covered landscape of Minnesota and North Dakota. The opening shot at the beginning is incredible with the snow white road filling an empty frame and the amazing Carter Burwell score to the film which starts very low and calm, then a car slowly making it's way up and eventually taking up most the shot, the music then gets a huge jolt in volume, it's one of my favorite openings to a movie.

Fargo is the Coen Brothers at the peak of their craft. It has that perfect balance of comedy, thrills, and even a bit of underlining sadness at the end. It's right up there with films like "Pulp Fiction" and "Goodfellas" as one of the best and most influential films of the 90s. Its a film that I loved the first time I saw it, and with multiple viewings only got better and better.