Fargo is a 1996 dramatic and dark comedy film written and directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. It stars Frances McDormand, William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi, Harve Presnell, Peter Stormare and Kristin Rudrüd.

The film claims (like many before it) to be "based on a true story", but just how closely it adheres to true events is the subject of considerable debate and a lot of apparently deliberate fudging by the Coens. The apparent truth is that the story was inspired by a number of real events which occurred at different times and places. Despite this, many people believe the movie actually recounts a true story.

In 2001 a Japanese woman, Takako Konishi, was found dead near Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. It was widely claimed at the time that she had frozen to death while looking for money hidden in the movie, but there is little evidence to support this theory. Based on the presence of sedatives in her system and a letter sent to her family, her death was ruled a suicide.

The movie is named after Fargo, North Dakota, although most of the action is set in Minnesota in midwinter, but unseasonably mild weather meant that fake snow had to be used for many scenes.

It won Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Frances McDormand) and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen, and was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (William H. Macy), Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Picture.

The movie tells the story of a Jerry Lundegaard (Macy), who due to financial troubles, hires two men (Buscemi and Stormare) to kidnap his wife and try to obtain a ransom from his father-in-law. The plan falls apart. The kidnappers murder a policeman and two witnesses to his killing, and their deaths are investigated by a local police chief (McDormand), who just happens to be seven months pregnant.

As the movie narrative moves from establishing characters to exploring the consequences of crime, it also moves from comedy to suspense, drama, and even horror. The film's initial scenes satirize the blandness (both visual, with the unrelenting white of snow, and emotional, with repeated lines of dialog without serious content) and innocence of the upper midwest, as criminals are mere bumblers and police are interested in niceness and decency. However, with the insensate, unpremeditated, infantile violence of Stormare's character, the nice and delicate comedy gives way to primal brutality. Snow changes from a blank canvas of emotionlessness to a layer of forgetting and burial, and the humor of the first half of the movie is thoroughly negated by a glimpse into what has lain beneath the white surface. The denouement of Macy's apprehension emphasizes the unpreparedness of the characters for the meaning of crime and impact of violence.

Trivia

The car dealership featured in the movie was in Richfield, Minnesota. The business has since been razed, and the site is currently home to Best Buy's corporate headquarters.

External links

• Fargo (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116282/) at the Internet Movie Database
• MGM's page on the DVD release of the movie (http://www.mgm.com/title_title.do?title_star=FARGO)
• Snopes on Fargo (http://www.snopes.com/movies/films/fargo.htm)
• Snopes on Ms. Konishi's death (http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/fargo.htm)

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