Fargo is Flawless

Rating: 10/10 (23 May 2009)

Fargo is probably the last American Film masterpiece of the Twentieth Century and the last 25 years. Highly original and imaginative it is a depressing tale told in a dark comic style with flesh and blood characters intricately and smoothly connected with dialog and plot twists all brilliantly conceived by the brothers Coen.
Sleazy car dealer Jerry Lundergaard hatches a plan to have his wife kidnapped so he can pocket some of the ransom his emasculating father in-law will have to fork over. Through one of his mechanics he gets the name of a low life who might be interested and travels to Fargo to work out the plan. Things go awry from the outset though and soon the cold snowy landscape is littered with dead bodies. Solving the case is left up to a last trimester pregnant Sheriff from Brainerd, Minnesota who initially comes across as a little slow on the draw.
Fargo is flawlessly constructed with subplots girding the storyline, enriching characterization and sharply calibrating the suspenseful pace. The frozen north setting is a refreshing change from big city and vacation land locales that dominate feature films and the Coens expertly put it to use to create mood, evoke humor and accent imagery. It is the best use of snow since Altman's McCabe and Mrs. Miller.
William Macy as Jerry takes the car salesman stereotypes to new lows with one of the most memorable cloyingly unctuous characters in film history as he dismantles his family in pursuit of wealth. Whether trying to tack on extras to customers or keeping police at bay while surrounded in a motel room he remains steadfast in deceptive practice until the end. As the Sheriff Frances McDormand evolves from small town cop to Colombo subtlety and successfully without fanfare while Coen economically brings more depth and mystery to her with dry comic snapshots of her married life and a meeting with an old school chum. As one of the blundering kidnappers Steve Buscemi is a motormouth of comic complaint while his taciturn, hypochondrial partner played by Peter Stomare (a lot more grounded in reality than the Frankenstein creation running amok in the Coen's No Country for Old Men) is icily terrifying.
Fargo is the Coens' best film to date. They fell into a malaise after The Big Lebowski with heavy handed comedies (The Lady Killers, Intolerable Cruelty), dependence on charming movie star George Clooney as well as a flaccid and forgettable foray into black and white (The Man Who Wasn't There) before going Oscar with the slow moving overrated Old Country, followed by the praise worthy acerbic screwball comedy Burn After Reading. Even with their failures they had more to offer than quality work of tamer directors by offering razzle dazzle camera work and original off-beat characters. Taking chances they sometimes pushed the envelope beyond credulity but with Fargo they give us a perfect measure of style and realism with a dark comic soul that is rich in detail and perception of this thing known as the human comedy.