7 of 10
Cinematography by Roger Deakins
Frances McDormand
William H. Macy
Steve Buscemi
Harve Presnell
Peter Stormare
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| Fargo 7 of 10 |
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| Directed by Joel Coen Cinematography by Roger Deakins Frances McDormand William H. Macy Steve Buscemi Harve Presnell Peter Stormare |
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| I�ve finally figured out what it is the Coen brothers do best, where their real talent lies. And it is in the extraordinarily effective and sudden portrayal of brutality; they are truly great at that. This particular brutal film was very much in the same vein as Blood Simple and Miller�s Crossing, the most memorable Coen films I have seen to date. And although it was unable to replace the latter as my favorite of their films, it is now firmly ensconced as number two. Mainly because of the bothers� wonderful ability to do two things at once. The script simultaneously heaps praise and ridicule on the Minnesotan �down-to-earth-yeah� people. Often with exactly the same words, in exactly the same situations, and about exactly the same things. I can�t ever remember seeing a film that was so disdainful and admiring at the same time. It was also filled with some very humorous moments, although almost all of these scenes were simultaneously very disturbing. And finally, this film gave me something from the Coens that I had never seen until now: a likeable person. Frances McDormand�s role as the down-to-earth policewoman Marge Gunderson is a marvel of writing; truly magnificent. Buscemi and Stormare are both excellent, keeping us moving rapidly between laughter and horror. Two other things of particular note: a wonderful (and wonderfully under-used) soundtrack by Carter Burwell. Plus, the film had a bit of a happy ending, even if it did seem mostly out of place in the film as a whole. If the Coen brothers could just weed out a small portion of their obsession with the bizarre, and replace it with a bit stronger story sense, they would begin to really interest me� | |||||||