Movie Rewind: Fargo (1996)

Director: Joel Cohen (No Country for Old Men, The Big Lebowski)

Cast: Frances McDormand (Burn After Reading, Almost Famous), William H. Macy (ER, Pleasantville), Steve Buscemi (Armageddon, The Big Lebowski, Reservoir Dogs), Peter Stormare (Prison Break)

The Deal: Jerry (Macy) works for his father-in-law at a car dealership, and has gotten himself into some deep financial trouble. After a bunch of failed attempts to get himself out, he hires two men, Carl (Buscemi) and Gaear (Stormare), to kidnap his wife and hold her for ransom, which would be split between himself and the kidnappers. Unfortunately, the plan goes wrong, and a cop and two bystanders are killed. Marge (McDormand), the pregnant Police Chief, is dispatched to investigate the murders, and the trail leads her right to the kidnapping scheme.

Thoughts: The one thing that did impress me with the film was the level of acting. Macy was excellent as the in-over-his-head car salesman. He displayed a wide range of emotions effortlessly, and he felt very natural in his role. McDormand merits similar praise as the pregnant police officer. The one thing that really rubbed me the wrong way with their performances was their attempts at Minnesotan accents. They were way over-the-top, and far heavier than every Minnesotan I've ever met (I have friends in the twin cities and usually visit at least once a year). Buscemi and Stormare were both good in their roles as the kidnappers. In Buscemi's case, he seems to flourish in these types of roles, as they seem to make up the majority of his acting credits.

The Coen brothers have a very unique style to their films, one that I've never been a huge fan of. They usually have a very interesting concept, but tend to move at a very low pace, a trend Fargo continues. I think the idea of a man staging his wife's kidnapping has loads of potential, but I never was on the edge of my seat during the film. It was smart and entertaining, but lacked excitement where it could have been.

I was turned on to this film after hearing about the unforgettable wood-chipper scene. It was as shocking as it was made out to be, and will forever be etched in my mind when I think of Fargo. Much of the story will fade, but this scene was so disturbing and perfect for the film that it's worth watching just for this scene. I know many people find the Coen's films fairly humorous, but I never seem to find them very funny.

Verdict: An interesting story with very good acting, but the pace is quite slow and lacks excitement. Worth seeing for a very memorable scene involving the wood-chipper. ☆☆☆1/2