Fargo

A superb thriller in the Coens’ unmistakable style. Everything played into their hands: 1) the magnificently bleak mood of winter Minnesota, 2) the simple yet impressive soundtrack, 3) Macey and his characterful portrayal of mean-spirited jerk and underdog, as only he can play it, 4) the pair of goons, irresistibly played by Buscemi and Stormare. Add to this the Coens' absurdist humour (e.g. the scene where Buscemi buries the money in the snow), and the final rating is easy. Only the Oscar to McDormand is a bit of a mystery to me. (11/05/2003)

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)

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)

From Fargo, movie fans most often remember the human body disappearing into a wood chipper and the distinctive faces of the exemplary psychopaths and criminals played by Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare. The number of corpses that line the story, as well as Fargo's typical dark humor, invite comparisons to Tarantino's films. However, the Coen brothers have a different film technique. Their humor is not obvious, but rather clever and inclined towards biting irony. The Coens toy with the crime genre, but unlike Tarantino, it is not done for its own sake. They break conventions not for cheap audience effect, but to explore the possibilities of genre evolution and to shape the atmosphere. Scenes of shocking brutality are combined with comedy resulting from the fact that the main characters are not charismatic, brilliant criminals, but rather nobodies. When an inexperienced, ambitious weakling with average intelligence hires two brutes with the intelligence of horses to execute a kidnapping, it is no wonder that events quickly spiral out of control and descend into a terrifying disaster. Originally, it was supposed to be a precise and cleverly planned operation in the delusional mind of its creator. However, due to a series of coincidences and, above all, the incompetence of the protagonists, it turns into a bloody farce. The Coens build the atmosphere using contrasts. Behind the facade of bourgeois suburban family life lies envy, greed, and chronic dissatisfaction. The snowy white landscapes of Minnesota become stained red with blood. By the way, the portrayal of their homeland did not sit well with the residents of Minnesota, and they made that very clear to the Coens. I'm not saying that Fargo is the best Coen brothers’ piece, I would unequivocally place No Country for Old Men higher, but still, I have an itch to give it five stars. Fargo simply has a lot going for it. Overall impression: 85%. (07/06/2017)

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)