I’m constantly being bombarded by people telling him “you haven’t seen ____? You gotta check it out.” Or hearing critics rave “this movie is a classic, a must see.” So I decided that from now on every time I actually watch one of these flicks, I’ll write my take on whether the film lived up to the hype or fell short.
So, what’s the deal with Fargo?
Even though The Big Lebowski is my favorite Coen Brothers film, I’ve always heard many people consider Fargo to be their best. Coen Brothers movies can be pretty hit or miss for me, so I was looking forward to seeing one that most people held in high regard.
I definitely don’t think I expected Fargo to be such a straightforward movie. The plot is unveiled without any more twists or left turns than an average movie, even less than most crime dramas. I always assume the Coen’s are going to throw an odd scene in at least, but Fargo didn’t play that angle. Some of the characters were eccentric, and this helped keep my interest, but they weren’t as far out as characters in other films by the Coen Brothers. Fargo would be a good film to introduce someone who was unfamiliar with them to their work because of this.
I think most would agree that the best part of Fargo is Frances McDormand. I looked at her filmography after watching Fargo and I have not really seen a lot of her work. Of what I have seen, this is my favorite role. She plays Marge Gunderson in a very likeable way. Gunderson is the police chief of Brainerd, where the crimes in the movie take place. You can tell that she is good at her job and has the respect of her force. McDormand’s facial expressions carry a lot of weight in her performance and really sell her character as a Midwesterner-type.
I also enjoyed Steve Buscemi’s character. It helped that he was probably the most animated character in the film by a long shot. He wasn’t comic relief or anything of that nature, just someone who had a lot of energy. His role was slightly similar to the one he played in Reservoir Dogs. William H. Macy rounds out the rest of the main characters playing a bumbling guy who’s scheme to make money starts the chain of events in the film. At first, his character seemed put down upon and I thought we were supposed to sympathize with him, but a third of the way in I realized he was just an awful person.
The film is really all about the characters. The story is interesting, but feels on the lighter side compared to other Coen Brothers films. There are a lot of dialogue heavy scenes in Fargo, some to drive the plot while others are just there to make you feel acquainted with the people in the town. Fargo does a good job of making you feel you have an idea of how the people in the film live day-to-day.
I would say that Fargo could be one of my favorite Coen Brothers films, but I don’t see it beating out The Big Lebowski or even Barton Fink. Fargo has a solid plot and is fulfilling, but is lacking the strangeness that I appreciate in other films by the Brothers. I do like that Fargo had an ending that wrapped up nicely. I think the film really benefited from this because other Coen endings can be a little underwhelming (i.e. A Serious Man). I look forward to watching Fargo again at some point, but it seems like the kind of movie you have to be in the right mood to really get the best out of it.
