Fargo - A Movie Review

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"Fargo" is a black comedy-thriller released in 1996. It was written, produced and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. This movie was a commercial and critical success. It received 7 Academy Award nominations -- Frances McDormand won Best Actress; and the Coens won for Best Original Screenplay. In 1998 the AFI (American Film Institute) named it one of the 100 Greatest Films in History. In 2014 a television series by the same name premiered. CAST Frances McDormand - Marge Gunderson Steve Buscemi - Carl Showalter Peter Stormare - Gaear Grimsrud William H. Macy - Jerry Lundegaard Harve Presnell - Wade Gustafson Kristin Rudrud - Jean Lundegaard Tony Denman - Scotty Lundegaard Steve Reevis - Shep Proudfoot Larry Brandenburg - Stan Grossman John Carroll Lynch - Norm Gunderson Steve Park - Mike Yanagita Jose Feliciano - Himself "This is a True Story." This is the first thing to talk about because what is shown at the beginning of the movie is, in fact, not true. There are two instances in the movie that are related to something that supposedly happened and one that definitely happened: A General Motors Finance Corporation employee committed fraud by playing around with some serial numbers of vehicles. This relates to Jerry Lundegaard and the vehicle serial number problem in the movie. In order to tell you about the second instance, I would need to reveal a spoiler, which I won't do! It's the winter of 1987 and Jerry Lundegaard, the sales manager of an auto dealership in Minneapolis, Minnesota needs money desperately. We're never really told why he needs money; but it is implied that he's embezzling money from the dealership and needs to pay off a GMAC loan and possibly other miscellaneous loans. He has received a $320,000 loan from GMAC on vehicles that don't exist. Through Shep Proudfoot, a dealership mechanic and ex-convict, Jerry hires two small-time cons to do a job for him. Carl Showalter and Gaear Grimsrud are to kidnap Jerry's wife. Then Jerry will get the ransom money from his wealthy father-in-law and boss, Wade Gustafson. This is an excellent, excellent movie...one of the best that I've seen in a while. There is comedy; there is intrigue; and there is dark, dark crime. Frances McDormand does an excellent job of portraying Marge Gunderson; and the Coen's screenplay is top-notch. If you'd like to see how it all plays out, I highly suggest that you watch "Fargo". I 100% recommend this movie. This movie is rated R. Photo Credit: Pixabay