Fargo

I have a problem with Fargo. It contains a dozen unforgettable scenes, great characters and one of Carter Burwell’s best soundtracks, but it tries so hard to be a caricature that it loses touch with reality. It thus loses some of its seriousness, which was supposed to be its key element, and remains only an original film curiosity. I spent a long time vacillating between three and four stars. I settled on four, but only for the individual scenes. The atmosphere and omnipresent snow are not enough to make a movie complex and relatable. (05/07/2009)

I got back home from school this afternoon, frozen to the bone (this September has been quite chilly), I sat at the computer and put on Fargo. Big mistake, my teeth are still chattering. That said, the film never bored me, the Coen brothers’ direction is so distinctive that it always feels like a refreshment after a lot of bland movies. The basic plot structure is not that original, what makes the story unforgettable is the place it’s set, which is inhabited by maybe one normal character for every one hundred comical figures, and the very dark humour. (17/09/2008)

Certainly not my favorite Coen brothers film, though the way they are able to graft brutality, thriller suspense, and their traditional absurd comedy of human types and their superficial dialogues lightly touches on perfection. The excellent cast hardly astonishes (Stormare takes one’s breath away with his study of complete dementia and Frances is infinitely cute), and perfect and elaborated directing with all the changes in tempo and mood is simply expected of the Coens... Formally, it evokes a white snowy wasteland, with all the quiet places, roads going nowhere and very loose narration. Fargo swims in a very strange current, in which are intertwined a thrilling drama, a psychological study of the life of a loser and a Coen comedy about every-men who get entangled in a bubbling cauldron of brutality. Nothing is self-serving, everything has its order and the brothers, as always, stand on the side of ordinary "idiots". Thanks to this, Fargo is much more optimistic than the subsequent No Country for Old Men. Here, the law is achievable and the world returns to its old habits, to a bed with a bald dumbass and a box full of documents from the life of insects. A good, kind world. But I prefer the pre-apocalyptic wasteland of Cormac McCarthy... and thereby also this country. (12/01/2009)

Fargo has its flaws, and it's true that the attempt at a cynical-ironic caricature of reality hurts a bit the authenticity that, for example, the snow and dense atmosphere of the similarly weighed down A Simple Plan boasts, but the scenes are such an electrifying whirlwind of captivating filmmaking that you simply won't find a more iconic achievement by the famous Coens. What's more, it all clicks into a story that hinges on depression and bizarreness in a literally unforgettable way, underscored by amazing actors, precise cinematography and a downright delicious soundtrack. William H. Macy is one of life's most compelling losers, and Peter Stormare is a villain the sight of whom is enough to make the blood run cold... 90% (21/04/2012)

I still remember the campaign that Fargo had as a TV premiere on HBO, but I never saw it. There was really no reason not to watch it. The cast is likable, and the subject matter is one that captures the attention, but until there was a series on the horizon, there was no need to rush into it. I am now very excited for Season 2 with Kirsten Dunst and I enjoyed the original film very much. It's matured just enough because now I know who Frances and Steve are. (12/10/2015)