Fargo *****

Writer/Directors: Joel and Ethan Coen

Year: 1996

Cinematographer: Roger Deakins

Classic, won best director award at Cannes, and for good reason.

This is the Coen Bros. masterpiece. They have a great filmography, don't get me wrong, and they have other masterpieces, like No Country for Old Men, Raising Arizona, and The Big Lebowski... but in my opinion, this is their towering work.

Maybe you have to have lived in Minnesota as I did for 7 years growing up to understand just how accurate the feel of the location is here, the depictions of the characters... its just spot on. My father swears that the Hardees by the airport never responds when you go through the drive-thru... Marge goes through that very drive-thru and sits there yelling "HELLOOOO".

Its a great story, and the idea of claiming it to be a true story is genius, adding to the shock experienced by the audience. Unforgettable moments (kidnapping scene fall down the stairs with shower curtain), great dialogue (basically the whole script) and nice little asides to the story that fill in the characters and locations like Marge's interaction with Mike.

I'm feeling a bit lazy in my writing today, so while I'm not giving the best critique, if you haven't seen Fargo, you just have to.

Love the eeriness of the white minnesota landscapes, and the depiction of Minnesotan people and "Minnesota Nice".

Superb dialogue. Great acting. Love the character of Marge the pregnant police chief who can't understand why people would be so violent for "just a little bit of money."