More of a portrait of ND than a crime thriller

Rating: 9/10 (19 November 2002)

The plot of Fargo is nothing new, it is a simple plot with simple characters in a simple environment, and therein lies the brilliance. The Coen brothers have taken this simple story, put it in the simple environment of North Dakota and Minnesota, and created a brilliant portrait of life in these rural places.
From the scenes with Norm and Marge conversing in bed to the dialect used, from the mike yanagita story to the food that marge eats, they all create this beautiful portrait of life in these rural areas.
Fargo isn't about a murderous rampage of a kidnapping gone horribly wrong, its about the simple lives of simple folk, shown through a crime thriller. This movie gives us a clearer sense of our reality by showing us another aspect of it.