So, you're in a fix. You need money. And not just a dime or two—you need a fortune. But your job hardly pays for the bills and you have no other means to procure more money. What do you do? Do you go begging on the street? Do you steal?
Well, your father in law is a wealthy block. But he ignores you as best as he can, now that he has "handed" his daughter over to you. Besides, you work for him. Can't really fool the old crone. Perhaps you can just go to him and ask for money—but he'd ask why you need it, wouldn't he? And you need it because you sold some non-existent cars, embezzled a bank loan and it's all coming back to bite your arse. There has to be a cover-up soon, else you're done for!
Suddenly an idea clicked! What if you hire some mercenaries and kidnap your wife? Her dear old daddy has to cough up the money then, hasn't he? Once he does so, you will pay the mercenaries a portion and take the rest for yourself.
But the goddess of fortune is not smiling upon you. None of your plans go as you thought they would. And when multiple people drop dead, all around you, what in the Hood's name are you going to do?
Fargo's story starts in such a way and advances through a stranger road.
Fargo is one of the masterfully crafted dark comedies in the Coen Brothers' repertoire. It starts as a regular crime drama and proceeds to become a gripping thriller with an air of subtle bleak comedy. I have heard complaints about it being a comedy film, well, it's an acquired taste. Take the most obvious scenes for example, where the characters engage in awkward conversations—they are there for as long as it was needed to simulate comedy.
I see a lot of reverse shots (where the characters are in separate frames but transitioned in a way that it seems they are looking at each other) in Coens' films. But Fargo probably them in abundance, all over the film. These are often medium close-up shots to show how the characters interact with each other and how their expressions change can be seen up close and personal.
Take this scene for an example, where one of the kidnappers (played by Steve Buscemi) takes a car out of the garage.
Crime dramas can be slow in their pacing. I think, if the audience can examine the characters intimately, it is likely they will form an attachment (or not) to them and enjoy the film more.
I also want to talk about the composition of the frames. They are detailed and in meaningful ways. Take this into consideration —
The female police officer (played by Frances McDormand) leaves her home, gets into her car. Then she comes back to pick something up and goes back again. She's at the right half of the frame and the other half shows her husband having his breakfast. Now, this scene could be taken with a few different shots from different angles. But it's interesting precisely because all of it is in a single shot. Kudos to Coens and also to the cinematographer Roger Deakins, a legend in his own right.
I don't see any shortcomings in this film whatsoever. In fact, Fargo is a fantastic film, the pinnacle of dark comedy and a piece of art.
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I liked the film a lot. Just the name hooked me, how could you write a whole film about that place? Brutal winters and not too much in the summer :)
But the film. I enjoyed the pace, it's a genre I favor because it gives me time to figure out what's really going on. This one kept me going to the end.
That's great to know and that is a fine point - it gives the scope to grasp the whole situation.
I often feel like Fargo has the usual coen-ish comedy to a lesser, diluted extent, yet I loved it more than almost all other Coen films, perhaps except for, The Big Lebowski.
The Big Lebowski is just in a category all by itself. The lifetime achievement award category or some such. It's almost unfair to compare the rest of their work to it.
I think that everybody that stays in anything long enough has something to point at and say "This is what I wanted everything I did to be like". Big Lebowski.
As a devout follower of our glorious religion that is Dudeism, I completely agree! 😁
I could tell you abide right from the start.
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