“THIS IS A TRUE STORY. The events depicted in this film took place in Minnesota in 1987. At the request of the survivors, the names have been changed. Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly as it occurred.” And so begins FARGO, a tale of kidnapping and murder in the Midwest. This film is probably the most unusual film on my list as it is not heavy in themes or symbolism and it doesn’t have great directorial flair that I am normally attracted to. What it does have is humor and lots of it. Now when I say humor understand that I am not saying that kidnapping and murder is funny. Not at all. The humor in the film comes from the characters. The characters in the film are not funny people and do not act like there are in a comedy. They do not think they are funny and the movie does not treat them as if they are funny. The plot does not ask them to be funny as they are who they are. The film has two of the most unique movie characters to every grace the silver screen. Jerry Lundegaard, played by William H. Macy, and Marge Gunderson, played brilliantly by Frances McDormand.
Jerry is a loser; there is no other way to describe him. He has zero redeeming qualities but thru the performance of Macy you actually have sympathy for him. For some unknown reason Jerry is in deep debt and the only way he can see himself out of the debt is to have his wife kidnapped and have his rich father-in-law pay the ransom. His plan is simple; hire the kidnappers, arrange for him to deliver the ransom and keep the amount of money he needs to resolve his debts and pay the kidnappers who will return his wife unharmed. Seems simple enough but nothing is simple in Jerry’s life. To say that everything goes wrong with Jerry’s plan is an understatement. Even a second scheme to have his father-in-law bankroll an investment idea goes wrong when his father-in-law decides to take the idea for himself and give Jerry a finder’s fee. Jerry spends the entire film on the brink of a nervous breakdown but must keep his emotions in check as not to draw suspicions on himself. Macy gives a terrific performance and was nominated for a supporting actor Oscar (he lost to Cuba Gooding Jr.) and it’s his performance that is one of the film’s strengths. The directors wisely chose to keep his backstory to a minimum and they start the film with him having already decided to have his wife kidnapped. When he meets the kidnappers he may or may not have been an hour late for the meeting due to a mix up in the meeting time. Based on everything that later transpires in the film I would say that he was late. Most characters of this type (the loveable loser) usually have at least one thing redeemable about him but not Jerry Lundegaard.
Investigating a roadside triple homicide is pregnant police chief Marge Gunderson and believe me when I tell you that she is unlike any movie police chief or pregnant woman you have ever seen. Most of the time you see a pregnant woman on screen it usually serves a point to the plot. You can usually bet the farm that there will either be a complication to the pregnancy or we will be treated to the usual frantic birthing scenes. I am happy to report that this film contains neither one of those. Marge is the polar opposite of Jerry as she is the nicest person on the face of the earth. As presented her character is flawless and McDormand’s performance is as well. McDormand deservedly won the Oscar for Best Actress for her performance in this film and she is simply a joy to watch. Her character is not introduced until about 30mins into the film but once she appears the movie is more focused on her and she is enjoyable for every second of her screen time.
I cannot discuss this film without talking about the dialogue and more specifically the North-Central American English dialect and way of speaking. I’m sure the dialect is over exaggerated but it is done not to make fun of it but to simply present it. You will never hear the words “yaaa”, “you betcha” or “real good there” quite the same after seeing this film. Few movies make me smile the way this one does and it is because of the use of this dialect that make it so enjoyable. Quite frankly there are two scenes in this movie that I would rank as the funniest of all time. One scene involves Marge interviewing two prostitutes regarding an encounter they had with possible suspects in the crime she is investigating. Viewing this scene alone makes the film feel like a comedy. The second scene involves a local man informing a local police officer about an encounter he had with a “funny looking fella” You can view the first scene below.
FARGO has earned a spot on my all-time greatest list because of its mixture of humor, drama, and violence. Although those elements usually don’t make a good mix director Joel Coen do a good job of not over doing any one element of the film. As I stated earlier the humor comes from the characters and not because it needs to be funny. Had the film been set in another region it would just be another film but the directors were able to tap into the local flavor thus give the film a unique regional flavor. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor for Macy, and Best Directing for Joel Coen. He and his brother Ethan, known as the Cohen Brothers, have also made must see films BLOOD SIMPLE, THE BIG LEBOWSKI, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN and TRUE GRIT. FARGO won 2 awards, Best Actress for McDormand and Best Original Screenplay. If you haven’t seen this one you are missing out one of the most unique pictures to come out of Hollywood and you won’t regret it. You will find yourself quoting the dialogue long after the movie is over. Yaaaa, you betcha!!
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