Fargo (1996)

Fargo
Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
Written by Joel and Ethan Coen
1996/US
IMDb link
Repeat viewing/Amazon Instant
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

[box] Marge Gunderson: [to Gaear] So, that was Mrs. Lundegaard on the floor in there. And I guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper. And those three people in Brainerd. And for what? For a little bit of money? There’s more to life than a little money, you know. Don’tcha know that? And here ya are, and it’s a beautiful day. Well. I just don’t understand it.[/box]

This outrageous, warm, wintry, black comedy/thriller has held up well through the years and made perfect Lockdown viewing.

The film takes place in Minnesota and North Dakota.  Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy) is an inept used car salesman and an even more inept crook.  He is in a deep financial hole and his father-in-law (Harve Presnell), who owns the used car lot, hates him.  As near as I can figure out Jerry has taken a big loan using non-existent cars as collateral and is about to face the music.  So Jerry has the brilliant idea of having his wife kidnapped and getting himself out of his mess with a ransom to be paid by his father-in-law.  He hires two unhinged and volatile kidnappers, the non-stop weirdo Carl Showalter (Steve Buschemi) and the silent but extremely violent Gaear Grimsrud).

The kidnapping takes place as per the plan but everything quickly goes to hell.  And pregnant detective Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) is on the case.

I love this movie despite its sometimes gruesome violence.  For me, it is the perfect blend of the amusing and bizarre wrapped up in an engaging police procedureal.  Love those Minnesotan accents!  And the relationship between Marge and her husband.  And the two horrible kidnappers.  And of course Macy and McDormand’s brilliant, hilarious performances.  Highly recommended.

Frances McDormand won a well-deserved Best Actress Oscar and the Coen brothers won for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen.  The film was nominated in the categories of Best Picture; Best Supporting Actor (Macy); Best Director; Best Cinematography; and Best Film Editing.