A great slice of Americana

Rating: 10/10 (27 January 2013)

The Coens reign in their penchant for stylisation in Fargo. The story is told in a pretty straightforward way, they let the characters drive the film. This is a good decision on their part as both the writing and acting are superb, while the pacing is great. It's part comedy, part crime film. And completely successful at both. If I never knew differently I would have easily believed that this was an adaption of an Elmore Leonard novel.
There's no doubt that the crime genre brings out the best in the Coens. The labyrinthine plotting and complex character connections of these films allows these guys to display their mastery. In Fargo, a crime does not go to plan and spirals into something else and no one knows what the others are up to. This is extremely similar to the plot framework of the Coens debut Blood Simple. Fargo is in some ways a reworking of elements of that film but with a wider palette. Where it deviates most is in its inclusion of a lot of comedy. But unlike most straight comedies the humour is very funny here. Most of it is derived from the well-constructed characters but perhaps the funniest single moment is a sight gag - Jerry has a solemn talk with his son about keeping quiet about the kidnapping emphasising further what a weasel he is, he then shuts his son's bedroom door to reveal a hilarious poster of 'The Accordion King'. It's such a bizarre and strange poster for a teenage boy to have in his room. It does indicate though that Jerry's son is maybe a little strange.
As well as being a crime film, Fargo is also a good example of Americana. There is a real sense of place. The small town Minnesota feel is accentuated by the characters, whose specific accents and habits are depicted in some detail here. It reminded me a lot of Twin Peaks, with its mixture of a serious crime with the goings on of ordinary and eccentric small town Americans. The landscape is important too, with the snowy Midwestern expanses beautifully captured.
Like always the Coens somehow get superb performances from their entire cast. The brilliant screenplay helps of course but there is no doubt that the acting is of a very high calibre. Frances McDormand has attracted a lot of deserved praise for her portrayal of a deceptively upbeat pregnant policewoman but this film is full of excellent performances. William H. Macy underpins the story as the pathetic car salesman; it's a terrific performance of a three dimensional character. Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare are great as the out of town hoodlums; Buscemi is particularly good, stealing any scene he is in. While Harve Presnell is also excellent as the no nonsense Wade Gustafson.