Fargo (1996)
★★★★½ — Fargo (1996)
Fargo arrived in 1996 as something of a course correction for Joel and Ethan Coen, whose previous film The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) had been a costly studio misfire that left them in need of a hit. Shot on a modest $7 million budget across Minnesota and North Dakota during a particularly brutal winter, the film was made with Working Title Films providing the British co-production money that kept it independent in spirit. The Coens famously claimed the story was "based on true events," though this was almost entirely fabricated as a marketing conceit. Frances McDormand, married to Joel Coen, had worked with the brothers since Blood Simple (1984), but Marge Gunderson gave her a role that would win her the Academy Award for Best Actress, while the film also took the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
Coen Brothers smash it out the park again. It's crazy because I first watched this like 20 years ago and I remembered not liking it much at all. Watching it again as an adult it's absolutely brilliant. The pacing is perfect. It's the perfect length and it's gripping from start to end. The scripting is great. The story is good. I mean honestly it's just a very very good crime film.
Rating: ★★★★½ | Year: 1996 | Watched: 2025-05-17
Where to watch (UK)
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Related on Movies With Macca
More from Joel Coen: Blood Simple (1984) · True Grit (2010) · Raising Arizona (1987) · Burn After Reading (2008)
More with Frances McDormand: Blood Simple (1984) · Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) · Burn After Reading (2008)
More from United Kingdom: Lessons of Darkness (1992) · Shinjuku Boys (1995) · The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) · Blue (1993)
More from the 1990s: Lessons of Darkness (1992) · Shinjuku Boys (1995) · Blue (1993) · Cemetery Man (1994)
More crime: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Angst (1983) · Stolen Face (1952) · Cairo Station (1958)
More drama: Viy (1967) · Wonder (2017) · A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Beautiful Boy (2018)
