In attempting to categorise Joel and Ethan Coen's crime-comedy movie, Fargo, one comes up against several pitfalls. On one hand, while it has elements of noir in its structure, its setting, characters and black-humour make it difficult to call it an out and out film noir. On the other hand, it would be hard to call this a straight comedy, since any laughs that come from this only serve to heighten the crime plot. I guess this is what made the Coen brothers come across as such oddballs back in 1996. They were idiosyncratic to the point where their work was undefinable either in genre or tone.
The film opens in 1987, and Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy), a Minneapolis based auto salesmen, has travelled to Fargo, North Dakota, to hire two criminals to kidnap his wife, in exchange for a brand-new car and half of $80,000 ransom. Although, Jerry is not shooting straight dice, as he intends to demand a much higher sum from his wealthy father-in-law, hoping to keep most of the money for himself. Carl (Steve Buscemi) and Gaear (Peter Stormare), the two hired goons, successfully kidnap Jerry's wife, but things go awry as they are pulled over by a cop while passing through Brainerd (home of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox). Carl's attempt to bribe the cop fails, which prompts Gaear to shoot the police officer in the head. As Carl is clearing the now deceased officer off the side of the road, he is seen by a couple passing by in a car. Gaear gives chase, until the couple swerve off the road, enabling him to kill them both. The investigation now falls into the hands of Brainerd based police officer, Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand), a quick witted, highly competent police officer who happens to be several months pregnant.
To watch Fargo is to experience two filmmakers who, not only understand genre, but also understand how people in Minneapolis behave. Of course, Joel and Ethan Coen grew up in Minneapolis, so they clearly understand the attitudes and the speech of the people who live there; from their lilting "Minnesota Nice" accents to something as simple as their reaction towards bad weather. One might call it a risk to set it somewhere like this, with these people, but the film, and indeed the filmmakers, have an overwhelming confidence in their work which sees it through to the end. We can take Marge seriously as a police officer, despite her saying things like, "Mind if I take a seat, I'm carrying quite a load here." Or, "By the look of his footprint he looks like a big fella'". Although, regardless of the Coens' familiarity with the people and place, it is the originality of the crime story which cements it all together.
That is not to say that there has never been a film about a botched crime job before this, but it is handled tremendously. For example, Jerry's incompetence as a criminal can be seen when he tries to stop the kidnapping going ahead, since he may not need the ransom money after all, but cannot cancel because he does not have the kidnappers' phone number. In fact, his incompetence as a criminal is only surpassed by his greed and selfishness. He only has himself to blame for getting himself further into hot water. His attempts to scam his father-in-law, the criminals and the General Motors Acceptance Corporation (which he uses to take out loans on cars he does not own), is hilarious, since he is so blind to the consequences of his actions. Of course, William H. Macy specialises in these kinds of bumbling fools, but nothing he has done before or since this have come close to the excellence of this performance.
Through the Coens' use of banal dialogue and small town sensibilities, even characters like Jerry and the two kidnappers come across as recognisable; which is perhaps why this is their best screenplay to date. The characters do not talk in exposition, they talk, as you or I would, and the film is all the better for it. Jerry is a monster and a creep, but his mounting debt does make him a human being - if not a decent human being - if only because we recognise his cluelessness. Carl is a lowlife, small time hood, but the more things go wrong, the more his paranoia continues to mount, until the things he does no longer seem to be in his, or indeed anyone's, control. Although, his biggest source of paranoia comes from the sluggish, "big fella", partner of his, Gaear. Since he is a psychopath who has no qualms murdering anyone he chooses. In any case, even if they are not at all sympathetic, they are endlessly endearing to watch, if only so we can see how badly they mess up.
Marge Gunderson is clearly the moral compass of the film. She trusts people implicitly, to the point where she comes across as a little naive, and her demeanour is unwaveringly friendly. She just wants to do her job — at which she excels — and go back home to her husband and watch a little television before bed. She is perhaps the Coen brothers' greatest character, and the fact that she does not appear until half way through the film only strengthens the fact that she is such a good contrast to the rest of the characters in the film, who are for the most part, scumbags.
Perhaps the most crucial part of Marge's development is a subplot that comes fairly late in the film, where she meets Mike Yanagita (Steve Park), an old high school friend who has long since harboured a crush on Marge. After a little small talk, she asks him whether or not he ever got married or had kids and he replies by telling her that he was married, but he is now a widower. It is not until later that Marge finds out from an acquaintance that Mike was never married, and the woman to whom he claimed to have been married is still alive. Until now, Marge had never considered that people could be so cruelly manipulative or underhanded to attempt to get something they wanted (in this case, Mike wanted to sleep with Marge). This characterisation is what is so marvellous about Fargo and that meeting with Mike allows Marge to see through people who are willing to be so banally evil to get what they want. The fact that she manages to come through the events of the film with her soul and heart intact is marvellous, and when she tells her husband, Norm (John Carroll Lynch) that they are "doin' pretty well", she really means it.
Frances McDormand's performance, as Marge, is nothing short of brilliance, and will go down in history as being one of the best ever by a female lead. She is helped by a fantastic supporting cast, who work hard to make their dishonest, shady characters seem human; which is quite a feat, considering just how awful they are.
I am unsure if this is my favourite film by Joel and Ethan Coen, but it is certainly up there with their best films, and, alongside The Dude from The Big Lebowski, it contains their best leading character. Also, it would be remiss of me not to mention the score by Carter Burwell, who uses a Norwegian folk song, The Lost Sheep, as the basis of his score. This is especially clever, since the way characters speak portrays their Scandinavian-American origins. There is really little else I can say about the film without overpraising it, so I will end by imploring anyone who has not seen this, to go out and find a copy.
10/10
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