MIXED BAG WEEK! : FARGO

This is actually the second time I watched this film. I thought it only fair seeing as I barely remembered anything at all about the first time. I was NOT drunk at the time, I was, however, very young. Far too young to understand the Coen Brothers’ very dark style. Having grown a little (and being over 25 yet under five feet tall I can safely add “not a lot though!”), I decided it was time to re-evaluate this one. It was, after all, the Coen brothers. So now, the film is officially one of my favorite films ever as opposed to some obscure little number in my past. No kidding and no exaggerating, this film makes my top 10, heck it makes the top 5. Not because I’m a violent person by nature you understand (my top five of films aren’t exactly David Attenborough documentaries if you get my drift) but… I dunno it’s a sort of dark humor to be found in directors like Tarantino and the Coen brothers that really REALLY get me… But more on that later, now Fargo; the story of the best made plans of mice and men and how they can go truly and terribly wrong… Oh and by the way… True story…
Jerry Lundegard (William H. Macy – don’t you just LOVE the guy?) is a man with problems. You wouldn’t think it to look at him, I mean sure, he IS a little too soft spoken and indecisive for a car salesman but he’s doing alright. He works in his father in law’s car showroom (which is already an embarrassment) but at least he has a loving wife and son. His wife’s family is very well off so they have nothing much to worry about but Jerry himself has money problems. His father in law neither respects nor likes him, so asking him for help is basically out / useless. So, in his “wisdom”, Jerry comes up with a plan. He’s going to have his wife kidnapped, just like in the movies. His father in law, fearing for his daughter’s life, will cough up the one million dollar ransom money (only Jerry’ll con the kidnappers it’s much less of course and take most of it himself), then Jerry will pay off the kidnappers, he’ll get his wife back – a little traumatized but otherwise OK –life will go on as usual and his problems will disappear, right? No. True, Shep Proudfoot a friendly mechanic has put him in touch with the right guy for the job (Steve Buscemi, another one of my favorites) but the thing is, he’s brought a friend along (Peter Stormare). You might class this as a minor detail, however no one, no not even his friend is able to fathom what a MASSIVE difference this one extra man is going to make…
First of all, I have to say on a serious note that I am flabbergasted that such an event actually took place. As you can imagine, it ends in loss of life and more than one life at that… It is a perfect, TEXTBOOK example of what happens when normal people like you and I try and apply tactics from films to real life. On the one hand you watch Jerry struggle. You watch the frustrations mount. You can imagine yourself thinking this would be the ideal way out if you were in his shoes, the thing is you may or may not be able to imagine yourself actually doing it…
I will not say the film mocks the events in any way. The “two headed director” (nick name for the brothers who are notorious for working very closely apparently) spares nothing in the portrayal of the shock and horror that unfurls as one man tries to find a quick fix for his money problems. And the other characters are brilliantly put forth too, there is Marge the sheriff for instance (Francis McDormand who won an Oscar® for her troubles) ; seven months pregnant, a sweet person with a loving marriage trying to figure out what in the world happened, as the bodies just keep piling up… And although what you are watching is horrific and you are gripping the arms of the chair with baited breath, there are moments where you just can’t help breaking out into partially nerve-induced laughter…