Just an absolutely amazing comedy/drama/thriller/noir hybrid. A

Ditto what Libs said.

Also, Frances Mcdormand's character of Marge is one of the best movie characters of all time, IMHO. McDormand was perfect. William H. Macy and Steve Buscemi are also very good. Without a doubt, it's the Coens best movie. My grade: A.

Fantastic.

I really liked the way the movie flowed, flawless. McDormand and Buscemi are both excellent. William H. Macy's character got on my nerves, blah. He gave a good performance though.

A

Yes, one of Coens' best, and the movie that vaulted them into the lime light. McDormand's cop was so sympathetic it came across to audiances as a very calming figure in the middle of this botched (and fairly grotesque) kidnapping attempts. The pacing and dialogue are superb, as is the acting from the whole cast. The contrast between the serious yet optimistic cop and the pessimistic miserable hired help is golden. Works better for large audiances than Blood Simple (the other botched death), because its somehow less dark due to the protagonist. My favorite Coen Brother's film up there with O Brother, Where Art Thou.

A

8/10. Yeah its good but for me its overrated.

I know they did it with some thoughts behind......but sometimes the actors feel really like the morons from moronland. Its based on a true story?? I really dont know if the chars give consideration to the real people involved in that crime. For me the whole thing would work better if it would be a bit more a serious attempt.

B


Good, but definitely overrated (just like The Big Lebowski). O Brother, where art though? is far superior to this one. The plot of the movie is rather generic, it is the screenplay and its dialogues that make it as good as it is. I don't understand the hype around Frances McDormand's performance in this movie and her character. I thought it was pretty ordinary. Her acting was decent, but nowhere near all-time best and not quite oscar-worthy in my humble opinion. I really liked the way the story of the movie evolved and its conclusion, but in the end little really stands out about it.

I just saw this for the first time, and although the Coen Bros. are some of my favorite directors, I was incredibly underwhelmed. Yes, the dialogue is good, and the direction is solid as ever. However, the film just feels rather hollow, and failed to really give me any emotional resonance with the characters. If any of the performances had stood out that might not have been the case, but the entire cast (yes, including Frances McDormand) sleptwalk through their performances, as if the wacky accents and little quirks were enough to justify their paychecks. Depressing rather then giving the hint of impending doom, the film comes off as extremely average, and although I may be judging it so harshly due to my expectations, as of now I'd say it's my least favorite Coens Bros. movie to date. I'd easily pick The Ice Harvest over this. C

I will NEVER understand why McDormand's performance in this one is so acclaimed.

A

Excellent.

For me, she deserved recogniton for the accent alone. It was perfect. Plus, the scene towards the end in the car and the scene (can't remember where) with her husband in bed were great, but the car scene especially.

This movie is beyond great. One of my favorite movies and the best movie of 1996.

My friends and I once played a drinking game with this movie. Who knew that taking a single sip of beer whenever someone said "ya" could get you plastered in less than an hour.

The thing that's so great about McDormand in this is she doesn't do any of the typical Oscar-bait tricks. She doesn't have a hysterical breakdown. She doesn't die. She doesn't gain weight. She doesn't wear make-up to alter her physical appearance. She creates a very real, authentic feeling character. I have a high school French teacher that's from the same area as Marge. Throughout the movie I swore I was watching my teacher.....the accent, the facial expressions, the mannerisms.

Marge is funny and compassionate. And she's the bravest character in the movie even when pregnant! It's just a great performance, not overly dramatic. It feels genuine and 'non-actorly'. I'll take her performance over the likes of Halle Berry and Charlize Theron's performances any day.

I dunno, to me the lack of character development didn't make her "more real", but rather she felt like a Midwest stereotype.

Well I felt that the movie was a satire of the midwest culture (sorry for shitting on the word "culture") and her performance truly echoed that.

I first saw the film in a class, and I absolutely hated it. I just couldn't get past the accents. I saw the film again recently, and it made me wonder what the hell I was thinking. It's one of the best dark comedies (And everything else Libs mentioned) I have ever seen. For instance, when the two kidnappers release the wife from the car, and she just runs around in the front yard with the hood taped over the head, I couldn't stop laughing (Yes, I know that sounds sick, but it's funny). And everyone pretty much gets what they deserve. Great film.

A+

My favorite Coen Bros film.

Probably rank them like this

1. Fargo
2. Blood Simple
3. Big Lebowski
4. Miller's Crossing
5. O Brother Where Are Thou
6. Raising Arizona
7. The Man Who Wasnt There
8. Intolerable Cruelty
.
.
.
.
9. The Ladykillers

All good movies, except Ladykillers which had alot more potential but to me it felt very lazy, especially the end.

Well, I watched this today. What a waste of time. It wasn't that i hated it or anything, it was that i just felt entirely "blah" about it. It should be said that i pretty much hate the coen brothers, as i don't find them funny. I have found exactly ONE of their movies funny, and the rest are either "blah" or real, true, HATE (o brother where art though). Their movies always have a lot of scenes that are so tediously slow that they're funny, only not.

Fargo just kind of started, things happened, people sat around, things happened, and then it was over. I don't recall laughing once. I did react to the startling violence when the cop was shot in the head, but overall it was just a dull, not at all funny movie. I liked William H. Macy and his character, but everyone else seemed entirely disinterested. I like Frances McDormand, but what the hell? I didn't see anything particularly special about her performance. She popped in a half our into the movie, and then was there and said "ya" a lot. I've heard people say her performance was great because she didn't try any of the Oscar bait crying, cancer, ugly herself up, etc techniques, but that makes no sense.

I really have issues with people who make/like stuff that is so great because it does the things that "normal" movies wouldn't do. Like Elephant. Having a shot of clouds for a few minutes, and then following some kid from one end of campus to another while he just walks there and doesn't do anything isn't supergreat. There's a REASON that "normal" movies don't do those things, it's because those kinds of things are wastes of time, money, film, etc. That's like saying that "normal" people don't eat their own feces, so if i do it then it'll be genius.

I know this was a bit of a rant, but Fargo did manage to bring that out, so i don't know whether to count that as a pro or con, as the movie itself left me emotionless, and then that turned to anger because it felt like i just wasted and hour and a half so i did have a reaction to it.

C-

A+, top 10 of the 90s.

The fargo's best, imo. The script is witty, original and sharp. The performances are nothing short of brilliant and it is a hysterically funny film as well. Especially describing Buscemi's character..."Oh, he's funny looking..." "Can you describe funny?" "You know, just funny looking."

10/10

I agree, but would also list Hudsucker Proxy as one of my favorites too. Fargo should have won the Oscar that year.

Sensational. You almost can't top the Coens when they're at their best. This one, Miller's Crossing, Hudsucker and O Brother are just perfect for me. A+

Really wonderful and hilarious. I never, ever get sick of watching it.

Reminds me of some of my relatives - I am, unfortunately, from Michigan. They really nailed the midwest here.

Yup. Overrated. Still god, but O Brother, for instance, is so much better.

Talk about underwhelming! I expected so much more out of this movie. I enjoyed it, but only marginally so. I liked all f the performances, I guess. They were all great, but also.....vacant? The characters felt very real and vivid, but also aimless. I didn't get the point of many scenes in the movie.

I did find a lot of dark humor and irony in this though. Like when Steve Buscemi tells the other guy to fuck off, and he just runs out of the house with a sledgehammer . Or when he's trying to shove Buscemi down the wood chipper and he gets stuck. Or when William H. Macy's wife gets out of the car and tries to run away with her hands tied behind her back.

B/B-