Quirky characters, dark humor

Rating: 7/10 (6 July 2006)

A movie that's hard to categorize, because, quite frankly, it's so weird. It's innovative and artistic, with quirky characters and an offbeat approach.
Dark humor can be difficult to digest sometimes, and that is my one major criticism of the film as several innocents suffer or even die violently. The movie doesn't seem to care, as it scurries along in an effort to showcase its weirdest characters. Sheriff Marge Gunderson (skillfully portrayed by Frances McDormond) is the only character who seems to notice that the victims are human beings. She's the protagonist with a calm demeanor and low key, Columbo style approach to the grisly crime she is investigating. She also serves symbolically as the only force of peace and sanity in this film's bizarre universe.
In stark and comedic contrast to her are all the freaks. William H. Macy is brilliant as a car salesman who would try to sell an Eskimo an air conditioner. He hatches a foolhardy scheme involving two thugs to get some quick cash which starts to unravel. His efforts to keep on talking his way through everything reminds one of a guy trying to talk his way out of quicksand. His father-in-law is equally nutty; a zillionaire whose every conversation resembles a board-room style exec meeting with his ever-present business partner.
The two crooks are just psychos, perhaps patterned after the two slime balls in "In Cold Blood." One is an idiot who never shuts up and errantly imagines he's the brains of the partnership; the other a mindless automaton who rarely speaks, but the wheels are always turning in his head. When he acts, he is devoid of any emotional response--just like a machine calculating, and reacting with ruthless efficiency.
The actors work all of these over the top characters well, and the film delights in bouncing them off each other. The dark humor is at times brutal, but overall this movie is an entertaining watch.