Good Story, Good Characters, Good Music

Rating: 9/10 (22 May 2008)

Fargo is the Coen brothers' version of a series of true crimes, mixed together to make one of the most compelling thrillers to hit the big screen in years.
Why it is called Fargo is beyond me. Fargo is only where the antagonists meet for the first time, everything else happens in Brainerd pretty much. Maybe it is the point of origin perhaps? Or maybe "how FAR they will GO?" ... That was bad, yes I know.
Anyway, what we have here is a compelling film about a simple plan gone horribly wrong. The story revolves around Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy) an execute sales manager at his rich father-in-law, Wade Gustafson (Harve Presnell)'s car dealership. Lundegaard is financially in trouble and calls upon Shep Proudfoot (Steve Reevis) to get together some guys to help kidnap Mrs. Lundegaard (Kristin Rudrud). When a deal with Wade's accountant, Stan Grossman (Larry Brandenburg) falls through, Lundegaard hires 2 thugs: Carl Showalter (Steve Buscemi) and Gaear Grimsrud (Peter Stormare) to kidnap his wife so that Wade will pay the ransom to get her back, and then afterward, Lundegaard will split the ransom with the thugs. Trooper Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) is hot on their trail throughout the film despite being 7 months pregnant.
The music score was top-notch (although I hate using that word). It set the mood for many scenes and did so while being very simple and not overly flashy.
Fargo is a fun movie and will stick with you long after watching.
9/10.