Brilliantly conceived and (joke) executed.

Rating: 10/10 (13 April 2011)

The storyline of this dark comedy drama has been gone over many times in other reviews so I won't labour on about it.
Suffice it to say that the overwhelming feeling of biting cold creeping into every part of the characters' bodies is brilliantly expressed. The multiple killings are leavened with a homely - Minnesotan - humour that somehow brings the whole movie together in a way that is typically Coen Bros.
The actors worked with dialect tutors to perfect the Minnesota accent to such effect that some of the dialogue is quite difficult to follow yet, strangely, this doesn't matter. The laconic way of talking interacts with the stark landscapes and reinforces the coldness which is so much an integral part of the movie.
The acting is almost consistently excellent: my one reservation is William H Macy's portrayal of the lead (anti)hero which to me just slightly off the mark in one or two scenes: I couldn't put my finger on why I felt that way and it isn't a real criticism of the movie as a whole.
Bottom line: first class, a movie to watch again and again (As I have!)