Works as both a thriller and a comedy

Rating: 8/10 (1 February 2006)

---Spoilers---
The Coen Brothers are famous for many comedies and other types of movies such as "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", "Blood Simple," and "The Big Lebowski." Their most famous one is "Fargo."
"Fargo" is their thriller and dark comedy that takes place in a small town. The story line is about a man named Jerry who lives in a small town and tries to get his wife's money by hiring two criminals.
I didn't understand "Fargo." There were many moments or confusion or vagueness, like all the attacks on one of the criminals. Perhaps this was a technique to build up suspense. Or, it could have just assumed that the audience would be able to understand it. Either way, it seemed unclear to me.
Yet, even if it's a confusing thriller/black comedy, it succeeds in both.
I heard that a good thriller needs twists. Well, "Fargo" is full of them. It's full of violence, and uses the violence to further the thrills. It also uses the shocking twists to make the audience jump. For example, when Jerry gets the phone call from Carl, it sends a chill through the audience's spine. There are also the psychological moments, where the audience is kept at the edge of their seat by asking "What's going to happen next?" Take the part with the car lot. The audience knows that Jerry is lying, and we also know that Marge doesn't. So what's going to happen next? Is she going to find out? Is she going to get shot? Is she going to leave?
It also works as a comedy. I think it's because of the funny accents (Darn Tootin') but it sure works! I found "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" funny, and "Fargo" seems too also work as a comedy. Just remember that one scene:
"What does he look like?"
"Oh, kind of funny looking."
"How so?"
"Oh, in a general kind of way."
It's funny...isn't it?
Overall, I hardly understood "Fargo," but if you want a thriller that has millions of twists, this one is for youif you could understand it.
Good: Entertaining, thrilling, funny and millions of plot twists
Bad: It was kind of hard to understand.