By Marc S. Sanders
The seeds of a crime begin in the dead of winter, in a saloon, located in Fargo, North Dakota. A car salesman requests two thugs kidnap his wife so that they can demand an eighty-thousand-dollar ransom from his wealthy father-in-law. The salesman will split the monies with the crooks and all will be well. Hold on there! It’s not as simple as it looks.
The Coen Brothers (Joel and Ethan) completed some of their most legendary work when they opted to “adapt” a supposedly true story that sheds blood over the snow-covered plains of northern Minnesota when all of the characters involved choose not to cooperate with one another. The unpredictable is what keeps their film Fargo so engaging. With each passing scene, you ask yourself “What next????”
Jerry Lundegaard (William H Macy, in my favorite role of many good ones from him) is the salesman who gets in over his head. This cockamamie scheme of his stems from a need to land a get rich quick investment, but he doesn’t have the money and his father-in-law Wade Gustafson (Harve Presnell) certainly won’t lend it to him. Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare are the hired criminals, Carl and Gaere. As quick as the agreement is made, Jerry wants to call off the arrangement, but things are already set in motion. The kidnapping occurs, albeit sloppily, and a late-night pullover on a dark, snow covered back road leads to the bloody shootings of three people.
Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand, in her first Oscar winning role) is awoken early in the morning. Her sweet husband makes her a quick breakfast and she’s off in a jiff to inspect the crime scene of the three murders. She is seven months pregnant, but she’s got a job to do.
Murder, kidnapping, fraud, and embezzlement piece together the Coens’ Oscar winning script. What makes Fargo special though is how out of frame it all seems among these odd and quirky characters. The Minnesotan dialects and vernacular (“You betcha!!” “You’re darn tootin’!” “Oh, for Pete’s sake!!!”) from Marge and Jerry do not seem standard in a story like this. Even their names – Lundegaard and Gunderson – seem totally out of place here. However, the pregnant, sweet natured police officer should not be underestimated, and the puppet master behind this plot should have known better. In fact, other than Marge, no one should be doing what they’re doing, and yet that’s exactly what spins everything off the rails.
The Coens humanize the characters of their film. Marge must stop inspecting the grisly crime scene because her morning sickness is about to overtake her. “No, I think I’m gonna barf!” It is not the blood or the cold winter that’s holding her back. Natural pregnancy gets in the way. When clues lead her to Minneapolis for an overnight stay, she takes advantage of meeting with a high school friend. Their meet-up has nothing to do with the central plot, but the writers insist on showing Marge during her off hours. It’s a hilarious scene and Frances McDormand’s timing is naturally comedic with a guy who just has an overenthusiastic way about himself. Marge is not just a smart cop. She’s got a life outside of her career as a loving wife, friend and soon to be mother.
As well, Jerry insists to Wade not to contact the police and let him deal directly with the kidnappers when they call. Wade isn’t just going to sit by for long though. He got to the top of his powerful pyramid by taking things head on. Jerry just doesn’t have the instinct to realize this is how the cards will fall. Wade was not to be involved, under any circumstances. Yet, that’s exactly what is happening. This is not good Jerry.
Carl and Gaere (These names!!!! I’m telling ya.), as crooked hoods, have no honor among themselves. One might betray the other and that could lead to another gory, very gory, yet inventive moment.
Other than Marge, either no one is particularly smart in Fargo, or they are just not seeing the possible outcomes all the way through. Still, even the dumbest of folk can make a turn of events gone awry so fascinating. When one tiny detail gets out of place, then the players improvise. That only twists several other expectations to go off kilter and the dominoes begin to tumble. Very quickly, as everything has unraveled, it is any wonder how this all began in the first place.
Fargo demonstrates that crime is hardly committed with a perfect plan. Fortunately, the imperfections are at least as entertainingly curious as the perfections found in so many other films. Oh, you betcha!!!!!
2 UNPAID MOVIE CRITICS!!!! 