Review of Fargo (1996) by Matthew D — 05 Aug 2018

Murder in the Midwest!

The Coen Brothers are genius directors. They took the premise of a greedy Minnesota husband and brought it to vibrant life. Fargo is a dark, sarcastic comedy with such brilliantly funny satire of Minnesota and the Midwest lifestyle.

The characters are cheery, drole, and yet so quirky, you cannot help but be charmed by their banality. The mundane aspects of life are satirized by the Coen Bros. as ridiculous in the most extremely absurd ways. It's glory fun and a neat little depiction of small town American crime.

It's actually beautifully filmed and very well acted. The shots of snow, driving, or someone just walking across these Midwestern tundras are gorgeous. Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare, and William H. Macy are all fantastic.

McDormand captures the genuine tenderness of a Midwestern woman while also giving her character the depth of a competent policewoman investigating homicides. Steve Buscemi is hilarious as the hitman just trying to get by and Stormare is wondrous as the sociopath sidekick. Macy plays the suburban Midwestern husband that's in over his head with such subtle finesse, he surprises you in every scene.

Everyone's accent will delight until you are so very annoyed at how quirky and sweet it all is underneath the horribly violent murder. Fargo is the Midwestern murder movie.