a good movie but overrated. Loses power as it goes along.

Rating: 7/10 (8 January 2006)

SPOILERS:
I am not one who hated Fargo. I can see, watching this, just why it is considered as such a great film. But I also think it's overrated. I was disappointed when it was over and don't think it is nearly as good as many have said. Here's why.
First the positives. In the beginning and part of the middle nearly everything is positive. And I do mean everything. The performances were great. The landscapes were breathtaking. The musical score was phenomenal, among the best. The movie was compellingly atmospheric. The story was interesting and the dialog was superb. The movie is clearly superior to many other films. It sucks you in from the beginning and there is so much power to the movie, from the opening, that one is on the edge of their seat waiting as the movie gathers momentum.
And that is why I did not love this. It gathers momentum all right. But it goes nowhere. The whole time I was watching this I was waiting for an incredible ending, for something along the lines of The Usual Suspects. But it never happened. It's not that the film is bad, it's just that it is so powerful from the beginning, but it never develops into anything at the end. The movie ended so suddenly I was still waiting for another half hour at least. At the end, I said to myself: is that all? The movie promises something big but it doesn't deliver. I thought maybe something would happen with the buried money, with maybe some kind of "twist", SOMETHING. There were all these "little things" seen throughout the movie which I filed away to myself, thinking they would somehow be very important to the storyline later but their not. Instead the movie became a mish mash of fights, gory murders, and.....that's it. Toward the end, there was to much an emphasis on violence and not enough on anything else. (Though the movie's violent throughout, in the beginning and middle there was also an emphasis on the story.) The speech that Mc.Drmand made at the end was powerful but the end as a whole was nowhere near the rest of the movie.
I'd compare it to watching a really good movie and then finding out at the end it was all a dream. I personally do not like those type of films either. But this was similar because we, the viewer are lead to think a lot more is going to happen that what finally does. Even the scene with Jerry getting arrested, although I'm glad he gets caught, could have been even more powerful. The film just ends, leaving the viewer to think:that's IT? I Personally thought Fargo was a 10 of 10 at TIMES. But I felt it really needed something more to give a feeling of completeness which it did not have. I know many, if not most, think it's a 10 of 10 but I'm just not in the majority here though I agree the movie had certain great aspects for me it definitely was not outstanding.
In closing I'd say, the dialog, the acting, the musical score etc were terrific but the movie's shortcomings really became apparent toward the end. The movie left a bad taste in my mouth and though I can absolutely see why many love this so much I was disappointed. My vote's 7 of 10.