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FARGO – Carter Burwell
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Fargo is a groundbreaking crime drama written, directed, produced, and edited by filmmakers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. It is a masterpiece of 1990s cinema, a brilliant film that merges noir-style crime storytelling with pitch-black humor. The central figure in the story is Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy), a financially desperate car salesman in Minneapolis who is deeply in debt and eager to get his hands on money without alerting his wealthy father-in-law, Wade Gustafson (Harve Presnell). In a reckless scheme, Jerry hires two criminals – Carl Showalter (Steve Buscemi), a talkative con man, and Gaear Grimsrud (Peter Stormare), a silent and intimidating enforcer – to kidnap his wife, Jean. Jerry’s plan is to have Wade pay a large ransom, from which he intends to secretly skim a portion. The kidnapping initially goes according to plan, but things unravel almost immediately when Gaear kills a highway patrol trooper, as well as two witnesses who happen upon the scene. Enter Marge Gundersen (Frances McDormand), the pregnant police chief of Brainerd, Minnesota. With her calm demeanor, sharp intuition, and methodical approach, Marge begins investigating the roadside murders. She quickly notices inconsistencies and starts connecting the crime to a suspicious vehicle and, eventually, to Jerry’s dealership – at which point he begins to panic and desperately tries to cover his tracks. Read more…
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