On This Day
Fargo released
March 8th 1996
07:19 8 March 2024
'Fargo' opened in theaters in the US on this day in 1996. “This is a true story. The events depicted in this film took place in Minnesota in 1987. At the request of the survivors, the names have been changed. Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly as it occurred.” And so begins Joel and Ethan Coens’ darkly comic tale of greed and betrayal. The fact that the unfolding events were almost entirely fictitious was of minor importance to the Coen brothers. Why let the truth stand in the way of a good story?
Veteran English cinematographer and Coen Brothers regular Roger Deakins opening shot, accompanied by Patrick Doyles stirring musical score, shows a lone car emerging from the distance through a bleak snow covered landscape. The driver is Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy) and he is en route to a meeting in Fargo, North Dakota, vehicle in tow, that will lead to a disastrous and tragic chain of events. Jerry is in deep financial trouble and has hatched an ill conceived and utterly deplorable plan to have his own wife kidnapped. The idea being that the ransom will be paid by his wealthy father-in-law, Wade Gustafson (Harve Presnell), and the money split between himself and the kidnappers.
Matters are further complicated by the fact that Jerry has been attempting to defraud the car dealership, owned by Wade, where he’s employed as the executive sales manager.
A rendezvous in a motel bar in Fargo, with Jerry delivering the vehicle to be used by his accomplices, has been arranged by mutual acquaintance, Shep Proudfoot (Steve Reevis), a mechanic colleague of Jerrys with dubious criminal contacts. Relations start badly between Jerry and the two would be kidnappers, Carl Showalter (Steve Buscemi) and Gaear Grimsrud (Peter Stormare), the former, agitated and incessantly talkative, the latter, disinterested and silent. With Jerry arriving late for the meeting, much to Showalters’ irritation, it quickly becomes apparent that this is one working relationship that is unlikely to run smoothly.
Inevitably things go wrong from the beginning and turn progressively worse with fatal consequences. The abduction is amateurish and shambolic and with a sobbing Jean Lundegaard (Kristin Rudrüd) concealed beneath a blanket on the rear seat of their car, the two incompetent criminals flee towards a safe house along a cold dark Minnesota County highway. Having been alerted by Showalters oversight in forgetting to put the temporary registration tags on their car, they are pulled over by a Minnesota State police cruiser outside the town of Brainerd. When the state troopers suspicions are aroused by Jeans muffled sobs, the psychotic Grimsrud guns him down and then proceeds to give chase and execute a young couple who have witnessed the shooting as they drove past, while a horrified Showalter watches on.
Early next morning, Brainerd police chief Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) is awoken by a phone call informing her of the previous nights events. Marge is heavily pregnant but continuing to work. As Marge prepares for her day, devoted husband Norm (John Carroll Lynch) prepares her breakfast. First stop of the day, a triple homicide on the outskirts of town. Once at the scene of the crime, Marge quickly establishes a sequence of events. This cop is the antithesis of her adversaries. Herself and Norm are ordinary working folk. She has integrity and compassion in a world of bad people who do bad things. She is also smart and determined. Very determined. As she gets closer to cracking the case, Jerry starts to buckle and crack under the pressure.
There is a couple of terrific scenes where she visits Jerry at his workplace. She is calm and courteous. He is stubborn and belligerent, squirming and desperate for a way out, under her passive interrogation. It is difficult to imagine anyone other than McDormand and Macy in these roles. The same can also be said for Buscemi and Stormare as Showalter and Grimsrud, a reluctant partnership, both losing patience with the other and both oblivious that the ransom money is considerably more than Jerry has told them. Wade meanwhile is adamant that not a single dollar will be paid unless he hands it over himself.
Fargo premiered at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival where Joel Coen won the Prix de la mise en scène (Best director award) and was also nominated for the prestigious Palme d’Or. At the following years Academy Awards it earned seven Oscar nominations with McDormand and the Coens deservedly winning best actress and best original screenplay, respectively. In April 2014 the ‘Fargo’ TV series made its debut and is now into its fourth successful season.
With its quirky dialogue, much spoken in the distinctive Minnesotan dialect and occasionally surreal, sometimes bizarre, scenes, Fargo still remains a contender for the Coens finest film.