The 1996 dark comedy was written and dircted by Joel & Ethan Coen. It’s the story of Jerry Lundegaard ( William H. Macy ), an incompetent car salesman whose wife is abducted by two criminals, Carl ( Steve Buscemi ) and Gaer ( Peter Stormare ).
Warning, Spoilers Ahead
PLOT:
By the way, this film takes place in Fargo Minnesota, not North Dakota. Jerry is behind on a payment he owed to Carl, who comes home one day to find his wife missing. Left to care for his son, Scotty ( Tony Denman ), by himself. To get her back, he reaches out to his commanding boss and Father in law, Wade ( Harvey Presnell ). The police are not informed.
The film follows three stories, that of William H. Macy, that of Steve Buscemi, and the forthcoming story of Officer Frances McDormand, whose married to Norm ( John Carroll Lynch ).
To put it easily, the stories are like this:
William H. Macy working with Wade to get 80.000$ to buy back his wife, he feels as if his entire life is about to fall apart, under the constant gloom that Buscemi may have already killed his wife
Steve Buscemi and Gaer driving around Minnesota with no real plan. They end up shooting three people on the highway and sometimes yells out something crazy, reflecting the insane mindset of the character
Frances McDormand – Investigating Buscemi and Gaer, going across Minnesota. Occasional overlap with Jerry, who tries everything possible to not seem suspicious to her
So, let’s fast forward so that I don’t spoil the middle for you folks. Buscemi kills Wade. Buscemi gets into a disagreement with Gaer and ends up in a woodchipper. Frances arrests Gaer. Jerry is arrested, oh and his wife was killed by Gaer offscreen. Now go watch the movie!! The End
CONCLUSION:
Overall, the Coen Brothers produced a great work with a well-picked out cast. Steve Buscemi especially impressing me, given how he tends not to do roles like his anymore.
Storywise, there wasn’t even anything that unusual about Fargo. Other than I suppose the woodchipper incident. PS, that was basically the only true thing about the entire story. The Coen Brothers even admitted to it.
Buscemi, Macy and McDormand all gave in great performances, her having even won an Oscar for Best Actress. Combine that with a solid additional supporting cast, and the directing of who I consider to be the greatest Brother-directed duo of all time, you’ve got yourself one fine movie. For everything Fargo has going for it, I’d give this film a 8/10.
-The Screenwriter
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