The Coens on Top of Their Game

Rating: 10/10 (10 May 2010)

For anybody familiar with this directing duo, this movie needs no introduction. Many consider Fargo to be the Coen brother's finest work, and I heartily concur.
Even though the movie is entitled Fargo, the entire movie is set in Minnesota, making full use of the goofy Minnesota-slang, adding to the dark comedy. Dialogue is what makes Coen brothers movies so special, so authentic, and this movie is no different.
There's the frankness of the police officer "He was funny looking / In a general way," or the clever use of punny double talk. "Oh I think my lunch just came up. No, it's just morning sickness," as Maggie Gunderson (played so eloquently by Frances McDormand) says after examining a dead corpse with a bullet in her head. But overall, it's the pace and in-depth nature and believability of the world that draws you in and rewards multiple viewings; being able to catch subtle character nuances on subsequent screenings is very fun, especially with Coen Bros. movies.
And last but not least, this movie contains two actor-defining roles, as to my mind Steve Buscemi (Carl Showalter) and William H. Macy (Jerry Lundegaard) have never done finer work than they did whilst filming Fargo.