Fargo is both an absurdist comedy and a stylized crime drama.

Rating: 10/10 (21 May 2010)

Fargo is a strikingly mature, unique entertainment that plays on many levels... all satisfying. A cash-strapped Minnesota car salesman (William H. Macy) pays two bungling crooks (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) to kidnap his wife in order to demand a ransom from his wealthy father-in-law. But his scheme goes disastrously wrong.
The film is an off-centre masterpiece with Frances McDormand in luminous form as a decent, heavily pregnant police chief whose slow, discursive style of speech disguises the sharpness of her brain. This may be the Coens' most satisfying film: a mixture of droll humour, gory murder, quick wit and bumbling stupidity. The snowy wastes make a striking visual counterpoint for the madcap action and jolting violence.