A solid story is supported by a weird and wonderful array of characters and some sharp writing

Rating: Null/10 (18 April 2004)

Jerry Lundegaard is a car dealer who has money problems. Unable to ask his wealthy father-in-law for money, Jerry employs two criminal types to kidnap his wife and then split the ransom with Jerry. However when a cop pulls over the two criminals, a triple shooting is the result and the police get involved. With Jerry getting pressure from the kidnappers now that thing has gone sour and Officer Marge Gunderson making progress in her investigation, things are far from as straightforward as was originally planned.
Getting past the whole `true story' nonsense, this is easily one of the Coen's most polished films as well as one of their most enjoyable. The film opens with a bleak, snowy scene with a great sweeping score and pretty much sets the tone for a film that feels bigger than it actually is. The opening scene between Jerry and his two contracted hoods is really good and is typical of the comic tone that runs all the way through the film. The plot is cleverly written and so much more than another `job gone wrong' thing, however what drives the film is the weird web of unusual characters that we encounter along the way. Setting the film in a part of American with Scandinavian roots was clever as it gives the characters funny accents before you even worry about what they are going to say with them! The screenplay won an Oscar and it deserved it simply for the dialogue and the characters it creates. It is a dark film but it is one that fans of the Coen brothers' universe will find funny.
Of course it helps no end to have a great cast to deliver it. McDormand won the Oscar despite only being one of several good performances in the film. Her Marge is funny yet relentless in her pursuit. Macy is as reliable as ever and it is his increasingly frantic performance that is the best of the film for my money - weedy, pathetic and hopelessly out of his depth but funny with it. Buscemi and Stormare are both very good for very different reasons and the rest of the support cast is comprised of many strange characters who are funny. Only the very occasional bit hits a sour note, but this is very occasional and doesn't hurt the film one little bit.
Overall this may not be a true story but that is not to say that it isn't fascinating anyway - who says truth is better than fiction?! The roundly great performances do great work with a deserved Oscar winner of a screen play that fills a solid crime storyline with all manner of characters that produce a gripping and funny film that is one of the best and most accessible of the Coen brother films.