Fargo is a movie directed by the Coen brothers which I’d been wanting to watch for a long time. It is set in the snow covered landscape of desolate Northern USA. A meek car salesman hires 2 goons to kidnap his wife for ransom. He has a rich father-in-law and hopes to take a fraction of the ransom for himself. The plan goes horribly horribly wrong. Meanwhile, a 7-month pregnant police officer steps in to investigate.
The movie opens with a haunting score that instantly hooked me into the movie. Don’t miss the opening credits! The filming of the desolate snow covered landscapes gives the sense of silence, death and beauty that is needed by this movie. Frances McDormand as the motherly-but-bloody-brilliant police officer and William H. Macy as the meek salesman have given superb performances. McDormand won an Oscar for this role. The movie’s very grim and gory and yet due to the way its shown, it comes off so innocently in typical Coen style (remember The Ladykillers. The dark humour that pervades all through the movie is simply brilliant.