Fargo (1996)

“The heck do ya mean?” – Jerry Lundegaard

Number of Times Seen – Too many to count (30 Jul 2013)

Brief Synopsis – A comedy of tragic errors is set off when a man decides to hire two men to kidnap his wife in order to use the ransom for a business deal.

My Take on it – This movie is so well done!!

The Coen brothers know how to make a great movie. The first thing we see on the screen is that this story is based on true events. This statement makes us want to believe the story more even though there is no proof that this ever really happened. Moviegoers tend to “buy” a story more willingly once they believe that the story really happened.

The characters all seem quite real. They sometimes act smartly, sometimes stupidly and sometimes we have no idea why they choose to do what they are doing. The acting also helps us believe the storyline; William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi and Frances McDormand are all excellent in this movie. McDormand, who is married to director/writer Joel Coen won a Best Actress Oscar for her role as the local sheriff, who is VERY pregnant, trying to solve the crime of multiple homicide.

This movie was nominated for Best Picture against The English Patient (1996) (the eventual winner), Shine (1996), Secrets and Lies (1996) and Jerry Maguire (1996).

As great as this movie is, it still isn’t as good as The English Patient (1996), but I still believe that it surpasses the other 3 nominees.

Bottom Line – In my opinion, this is the best Coen Brother movie. Great plot, great story and acting is superb. Highly recommended!

Rating – Oscar Worthy