Brutal, tense and hilarious!

Rating: 9/10 (14 May 2016)

Fargo is a 1996 black comedy/crime drama film directed by Ethan and Joel Coen (The Coen Brothers) and stars William H. Macy, Frances McDormand and Steve Buscemi. Often seen as the film that launched the Coen Brothers successful career, Fargo without a doubt deserves all the credit it receives. The story focuses around a spineless, nervous car salesman who arranges for his wife to be kidnapped and held for a ransom of $80,000 to extort from his wealthy father-in-law and boss, in his desperation for money to repay an outstanding loan. Which ends up going horrifically wrong resulting in a series of grizzly murders. Fargo fantastically blends its sharp wit of dry humour and black comedy with its gruesome, thrilling and intriguing narrative, the two seem to go hand-in-hand perfectly with Fargo having scenes that will have you bursting out laughing and others on the edge of your seat. Fargo also features beautiful cinematography with wide, expansive shots of snow covered landscapes as well as a fitting dark and unsettling soundtrack. Each actor/actress completely owns their character making their motivations and actions clear, as well as relatable. Fargo has but a few nit-picking flaws, such as a particular scene which seems unnecessary to the advancement of the plot and feels out of place, in which Frances McDormand's character meets an old friend. Another is a plot-line which focused around Peter Stormare's character Gaear Grimsrud- not enough of the story was focused around his role as it should or could have been, also another flaw being the slight overuse of the word 'ya'. Overall, Fargo is a phenomenal film, both winning 2 well deserved Oscar's and launching the Coen Brothers career onto a new level, proving they are two of the greatest filmmakers of the modern film era. Not forgetting notifying the world of the traditional (and comedic) Minnesotan accent. Fargo is hilarious, violent, tense and intriguing. 9/10