Rating of
4/4
*Sarah* - wrote on 12/29/08
Jerry Lundegaard is in a financial jam and, out of desperation, comes up with a plan to hire someone to kidnap his wife and demand ransom from her wealthy father, to be secretly split between Jerry and the perpetrators. Jerry, who is not the most astute of individuals, hires a couple of real losers from the frozen northern reaches of Fargo, North Dakota for the job. Then things begin to slip from bad to worse as Jerry helplessly watches on.
Oddly I'm a complete newcomer when it comes to the cinema of Joel and Ethan Cohen. This is only the third film of theirs that I've seen, the other two being Oh Brother Where Art Thou? and the brilliant No Country For Old Men, which I loved from last year. After watching this and my opinion on No Country For Old Men, I really must search for other DVD's by them because, what I've seen so far have a uniquness about them, orginality. Which is key to any succesful film.
Fargo is based around true events and set in 1987 in Minneapolis. Most of the characters are based around the actual people around those events but names have been changed. This imediatly sets you thinking as a viewer about what exactly are you about to watch, This adds a touch of realism to the sequences that follow and you really start to believe each and every thing that happens. The characters in Fargo, feel like real people and not in any way manipulated by the writers to be something they're not. You really feel that this sort of thing could happen to anyone at any given time. The main lead, played by the very underated William H Macy, was doing something I'm ure any one of us could understand, given the recent ecomnomc problems in the US and the UK. You feel that what you are happening mirrors that of your own life in some repects.
Fargo was nominated for seven academy awards and won 2. One of which was Best Writing, which is more than deserves. The script is absolutly brilliant. What was excellent was the over-use of" Ya" constanly through out the film, which gives you a sense of the accent in that state, It also makes for some hilaious sequences. I'm sure I laughed several times the film, in particular when we see two characters exchanging the Ya's in the film. Very funny indeed. the script plays well thoughout the film and the dialogue is realitsic for each character.
I'm sure Fargo is one of the best crim dramas that I've seen, perhaps not up there with Pulp Fiction, but extremly close to. Fargo has some stunning cinematogrphy in it. Most notably the snow surrounding the state, gives a sense of the isolation in the town.
Acting is just perfect. I loved William H Macy's very underated role as Jerry Lundegaard. He really suited his role and I'm sure I haven't seen him in anything quite like that before and he rightly got an Academy Award nomination. Frances McDormand is pitch perfect as Police Chief Marge Gunderson into her first homicide investigation. She's incredibly funny to watch in this film and is an extremly likeable character. Also worth mentioning Steve Buscemi in another great role. One to check out there.
Probably the most jaw dropping scene in the film is that Woodchipper Scene, which I don't think I've seen anything quite like that before. The noise of that woodchipper was so loud that you really didn't quite know what you were in for. Hilarious nonetheless.
Fargo is possibly one of the greatest crima dramas you'll. The realism in this is fantastic and you'll laugh, be shocked and watch in awe of the greatness in this film and the great Coen brothers. Such an amazing film. Watch out for the great score aswell.
Highly recomended watch!
