FARGO
A film review by Michael John Legeros
Copyright 1996 Michael John Legeros
(Gramercy)
Directed by Joel Coen
Written by Joel and Ethan Coen
Cast William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi, Frances McDormand,
Peter Stormare, Harve Presnell
MPAA Rating "R" (presumably for language and violence)
Running Time 98 minutes
Reviewed at Shelard Park Cinemas, St. Louis Park, MN (21MAR96)
==
In the remarkably rich and furiously funny FARGO, brothers Joel and Ethan Coen have returned to their roots, both thematically and geograph- ically. The "brats," as they are called by some, have effectively remade their first film, BLOOD SIMPLE, as a Midwestern murder mystery with a cutting comedic edge. (Think of a snowy stew of darkness and deadpan-- BLOOD SIMPLE mixed with a little RAISING ARIZONA.) More importantly-- more hilariously-- the Twin Cities- born brothers have concocted their first loving celebration of all things Minnesota.
William H. Macy (last seen in what I call MR. HOLLAND'S ANUS) stars as a scheming Minneapolis car salesman (and putz), whose idea for raising cash involves kidnapping his wife to get the ransom from her rich father. Things quickly go wrong for everyone involved, including two "hired hands" from Fargo (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare). Three murders, two hookers, and one jump-start later, the very-pregnant, very-polite Brainerd (MN) Chief of Police Marge Gunderson (Joel's wife, Frances McDormand) steps into the picture. Or, rather, waddles.
FARGO is the least-stylized and, probably, most-mature Coen film to date. The oft-criticized brothers have, finally, achieved a balance between their love of eccentricity and their audience's base need for feeling. Simply, they've made a very quirky (read: very Coen) film with a heart. Here are characters with real, negotiable emotions-- unlike the past cartoon creations that have been all too common in the Coen universe. (THE HUDSUCKER PROXY, for example, is both a visual tour de force and an emotional black hole. Jennifer Jason Leigh's character-- the eventual force of good in the story-- never makes an emotional impact. She just talks fast.)
As we're in very SIMPLE territory, expect plenty of grisly details and sadistic flourishes. (A couple of tree-clearing tools are used to particularly fine effect. Nods to Paul Bunyan?) The laughs are there, too. FARGO is recorded in sing-song, Scandinavian stereo, with dialects and dialogue that you just don't hear south of Lake Michigan. (Yes, they really *do* talk like that. Yup, you betcha.) Don't expect an easy explanation for it all, tho. FARGO is more than a little intentionally obscure. For example, we don't know what to make of a hotel encounter between Marge and an old schoolmate. Is it a comment on her perpetual politeness? A deduction about her powers of reasoning? For all we know, the moment exists solely to hear an Asian-American who also talks with that wonderful accent.
Grade: A
--
Mike Legeros - Raleigh, NC
legeros@nando.net (h) - legeros@unx.sas.com (w)
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