By Michael Colford
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Ethan Coen | Joel Coen
Starring: Frances McDormand | John Carroll Lynch | Kristin Rudrüd | Peter Stormare | Steve Buscemi | William H. Macy
Country: united_kingdom, united_states
Year: 1996
Running time: 98
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116282/reference
Michael says: “I could say a lot of things about FARGO, all of them good, but what I most need to say is that Marge Gunderson is one of our all-time great cinematic heroes! Practical, unflappable, determined, and optimistic are just a few of the fine qualities that make Marge the right person to deal with a couple of ‘not-s0-bright,’ but highly dangerous crooks who come through town and leave a bloody swath behind their bumbling path. Frances McDormand deserves all the accolades she received for this role, and a tip of my hat to the Coen brothers for creating such an amazing character, who doesn’t even appear until halfway through the film, but remains the most memorable thing about it. One of her final line in the film will always stick with me… as she drives one of the criminals to the station, crawling down the highway in near white-out conditions, and tries to figure out what drove him to such violence… she caps her inquiries with, ‘and it’s a beautiful day.’ I would feel safe in a town with Marge Gunderson (did I mention she’s about 8 months pregnant?) on the police force.
“There are a lot of great things to mention about FARGO. The taut, brilliant, yet-just-this-short of ridiculous script, exquisite performances by Steve Buscemi, William H. Macy, Peter Stormare, sublime cinematography by Roger Deakins, and the driest humor you’ll ever find in a crime film. The residents of North Dakota are gently ribbed, but not out-and-out made fun of. You can tell there’s a fondness for the people despite the laughs shared at their expense. I’m not one for crime films or violence, but when film is this good, I’ll make an exception. 5 cats