"Fargo"Is a movie that once it entered my DNA, I wondered how I survived without it. From the opening shot that references "Double Indemnity" to the (in)famous woodchipper, I found myself in love. Marge Gunderson remains one of my favorite heroes for many reasons. Since she's not introduced until after the first act, I'll get to her later. Right now, I recommend watching the movie and reading absolutely nothing about it beforehand. Then read some trivia on IMDb.

The movie juxtaposes comedy and violence until they combine into one in an amazingly grotesque finale. We see such scenes as a woman watching a corny morning show while noticing a man in black about to break in. Her reaction is delayed at best. We also have the sudden influx of violence when the police first get involved which could derail the movie if the Coen brothers didnt have such a sure hand over their story. Recently, I watched a comedy called "Rough Night" that included a death which did, for me at least, derail the narrative because it got 'too real.' That's not the case with "Fargo" as there is a playfulness even when it gets nasty. The violence and comedy don't feel like separate films but merge perfectly with the narrative.

By revealing as little of the plot as possible, I will discuss the characters. The two criminals, Carl and Gaear, have something truly wonderful in their chemistry. Roger Ebert described them as two cartoon dogs, one yapping incessantly and the other quiet but brutal when he strikes. Marge, on the other hand is a brilliant police officer who, in my opinion, is a true hero because she maintains a focus on the big picture rather than allowing herself to push and punish all wrongdoing she comes across. When she arrives at the scene of the crime, she figures out exactly what happened without even seeing the entire crime scene. Her partner makes a dumb mistake in his police work leading to the great line "You know, I can't say I agree with ya a hundred percent on your police work there, Lou." See, she corrects his mistake and then makes a joke so that he wouldn't feel bad for making the mistake. He learned from what she said, and there was no need to dwell but instead to clear the air and let him know she still thinks he's a good officer. Such observations may seem slight, but they make a difference to me. It's where the soul of the movie lies, in the goodness of people. A character like Jerry Lundegaard seems like everyone around him has one civil response, but by the second statement they run out of patience. His father in law hates him which is clear when we see the Employee of the Month wall. All the pictures are headshots except for Jerry who has a picture in which his entire body is present, making him seem smaller than others.

I could go on, but this would be an unnecessarily long review. It's bold and brilliant, energetic and stylish. This is my favorite movie because I keep coming back to it time and time again.

Fargo is top notch film making. Everything from the acting to the cinematography to the editing and score is all as good as it gets. The pace is slow and deliberate and feels heavy as the story forges deeper and deeper into the sinister underbelly. The blend of serious and comedic moments is fantastic and is very well written. I highly recommend it.

This movie is beautiful on Blu-ray. I had to add this movie to my collection since it makes my top five favorite movies. This movie tickles me to death.Great writing and acting. The only down is I also wanted this for the audio commentary. It's the director who does the audio commentary, but it was so boring. There was hardly any behind the scenes trivia that he talked about. He talked a lot about how they framed each shot and how it was supposed to make the viewer feel. I found it very boring as I've taken a couple classes in mass communication during college and most of it is common sense.

An outstanding depiction of how mad, mixed up and murderous a banal backwater can be. Stupendous performances from Macy and McDormand, including excellent accents (though those people really from North Dakota might object). And though the Coens lied in calling this a "true story," it is filled with people you can'r believe are anything but real.

No macho talk from the good guys, who are just living their lives. Lots of ordinary people doing ordinary things while dealing with extraordinary circumstances, mostly resulting from blatant greed measured in stupidity.
Wonderful polite speech rather than typical modern standard hip techno babble and continuous reciprocal put-downs.
It still comes out as a moral fairy tale, but it is a good story with continuous action and no pointless scenes.

I watched this movie in the theaters when it came out and I absolutely hated it. The tempo and especially the accents absolutely turned me off. Being from the north, I resented the idea that our accent was as awful as it was in the movie. Then I moved south and discovered that we really do talk that way and it's awful. I also grew up a bit and learned to appreciate the style of this type of film, and after watching it as an adult, I can say that I love it.

The Coen Brothers are genius directors. They took the premise of a greedy Minnesota husband and brought it to vibrant life. Fargo is a dark, sarcastic comedy with such brilliantly funny satire of Minnesota and the Midwest lifestyle.

The characters are cheery, drole, and yet so quirky, you cannot help but be charmed by their banality. The mundane aspects of life are satirized by the Coen Bros. as ridiculous in the most extremely absurd ways. It's glory fun and a neat little depiction of small town American crime.

It's actually beautifully filmed and very well acted. The shots of snow, driving, or someone just walking across these Midwestern tundras are gorgeous. Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare, and William H. Macy are all fantastic.

McDormand captures the genuine tenderness of a Midwestern woman while also giving her character the depth of a competent policewoman investigating homicides. Steve Buscemi is hilarious as the hitman just trying to get by and Stormare is wondrous as the sociopath sidekick. Macy plays the suburban Midwestern husband that's in over his head with such subtle finesse, he surprises you in every scene.

Everyone's accent will delight until you are so very annoyed at how quirky and sweet it all is underneath the horribly violent murder. Fargo is the Midwestern murder movie.