I managed to sit back the other night and watch this DVD. I've seen the movie before - just never from start to finish and almost never the complete, un-edited version.
Several of the actors are some of my favorites. Even my wife ( who isn't really a big fan of watching TV and movies at home ) decided to watch it with me. She was dozing off from time to time about two-thirds of the way through, but woke up in time to see the end. I find it difficult to express how I really feel about Fargo. It's a bit of a strange one in that, for me, it has real appeal besides the excellent character acting. I imagine that this movie is one that you either really like or really hate.
Several of the actors are some of my favorites. Even my wife ( who isn't really a big fan of watching TV and movies at home ) decided to watch it with me. She was dozing off from time to time about two-thirds of the way through, but woke up in time to see the end. I find it difficult to express how I really feel about Fargo. It's a bit of a strange one in that, for me, it has real appeal besides the excellent character acting. I imagine that this movie is one that you either really like or really hate.
William H Macy plays a car salesman ( Jerry Lundegaard ) under the thumb of his domineering father in-law who has devised a simple plan to have his wife ( Kristin Rudrud ) kidnapped. Using the resources of one of the car lot's mechanics ( Steve Reevis ), he enlists the services of two men to pull off the scam.
Steve Buscemi is a talkative, foul-mouthed criminal who with the help of his mostly silent, but intense and violent partner ( Peter Stormare ) manage to kidnap the woman. The plan is relatively simple. The two bad guys kidnap the wife and communicate the demand for ransom. Jerry delivers the ransom, gets his wife back and everyone lives happily ever after. However, there's a bit of a catch. Jerry has arranged for one of the cars from his lot, a tan Sierra, to be used for the crime. The bad guys get 40K and the car in return for their services. The ransom, however, is upwards of one million dollars.
You see, Jerry wants to make a little money. It's never completely revealed why he wants the money. You can speculate, but it appears that he wants to use the money for some sort of business venture. The money, since Jerry doesn't really have much, will come from his father in-law ( Harve Presnell ).
From the outset things aren't going very well. Buscemi forgets to put the tags on the vehicle and is pulled over on a lonely, snowy highway by the police. After a feeble attempt to bribe the cop into letting him off, Stormare kills the cop and two witnesses who innocently happen by and attempt to flee. It is at this point that a pregnant, small town sheriff ( Frances McDormand as Marge Gunderson ) lands the case. Although it would appear she spends the majority of her time in various eating establishments, she does good police work and follows the trail to Jerry and ultimately to the bad guys' hideout.
The movie is based on a true story. While I'm not sure if the director tried to make it as real as possible by emphasizing the MinnesOHta dialect . . . Ya, you betcha . . . it really provides an excellent break for humor in an otherwise tragic tale. Throughout the whole movie there is always an underlying dark humor that sucks you in.
Steve Buscemi is a talkative, foul-mouthed criminal who with the help of his mostly silent, but intense and violent partner ( Peter Stormare ) manage to kidnap the woman. The plan is relatively simple. The two bad guys kidnap the wife and communicate the demand for ransom. Jerry delivers the ransom, gets his wife back and everyone lives happily ever after. However, there's a bit of a catch. Jerry has arranged for one of the cars from his lot, a tan Sierra, to be used for the crime. The bad guys get 40K and the car in return for their services. The ransom, however, is upwards of one million dollars.
You see, Jerry wants to make a little money. It's never completely revealed why he wants the money. You can speculate, but it appears that he wants to use the money for some sort of business venture. The money, since Jerry doesn't really have much, will come from his father in-law ( Harve Presnell ).
From the outset things aren't going very well. Buscemi forgets to put the tags on the vehicle and is pulled over on a lonely, snowy highway by the police. After a feeble attempt to bribe the cop into letting him off, Stormare kills the cop and two witnesses who innocently happen by and attempt to flee. It is at this point that a pregnant, small town sheriff ( Frances McDormand as Marge Gunderson ) lands the case. Although it would appear she spends the majority of her time in various eating establishments, she does good police work and follows the trail to Jerry and ultimately to the bad guys' hideout.
The movie is based on a true story. While I'm not sure if the director tried to make it as real as possible by emphasizing the MinnesOHta dialect . . . Ya, you betcha . . . it really provides an excellent break for humor in an otherwise tragic tale. Throughout the whole movie there is always an underlying dark humor that sucks you in.
