The editing in ‘Fargo’ is another plus. Not only does it add to the overall look and feel of the film, it never seems clunky or draggy and that’s always a plus for me. The transitions from daytime to nighttime scenes are great. The use of cars, simply driving down a snowy road as transitions, is simple, but effective. Finally, it helped make some of the coolest shots look great in the movie, including Jean jumping out of the shower and falling down the stairs and Gaear shooting the trooper in the head splattering blood all over Carl.
The music, sound and score are awesome and ‘Fargo’ isn’t lacking there either. Cater Burwell does a great job with the feel of the film throughout. I keep mentioning the early scenes were Carl and Gaear have just completed the kidnapping and are pulled over. The lack of sound before the first kill, the anxiety filled car chase is nerve-racking. I already mentioned how awesome the style of the chase scene was right? Good. The rest of the film mostly follows suit. A quiet atmosphere with a ramped up orchestra coming in when big things start to happen and it works. It goes along with the dark, brooding and snowy settings to a tee and adds another dimension to everything happening in the film.
The casting of ‘Fargo’ is yet another bright spot to this well written film. The mystery is pretty engrossing; while the comedy, while sometimes pretty dark, is completely laugh worthy. The Coen Brothers are pretty great writers, so the fact that this won for Best Original Screenplay should surprise no one. That being said, the acting, and actors, are really what makes this film pop. William H. Macy as Jerry Lundergard is a treat, because he gets into the character so perfectly. I’m a big fan of Macy in ‘Shameless,’ but I’d never seen him in much outside of that. I’m glad to know he’s just as good on the big screen as he is on television. The mannerisms, the hope he has, the want to do right by his family and the just the character overall is written and played perfectly. On the other side of the coin, we have Frances McDormand as Marge Gunderson. She is mighty pregnant in character, but that doesn’t stop her from being a top notch cop. She’s smartly written, she’s strong overall and her Minnesotan accent is spot on (really everyone’s is). McDormand is great she really did deserve the Best Actress Oscar she won for this role. The duo of Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare as Carl Showalter and Gaear Grimsrud, is like a really dark version of two cops in a buddy cop comedy. We know they’re bad guys, but the interactions, facial expressions and overall demeanor at times between the two are pretty hilarious. While still at times we’re reminded they are detestable human beings, they’re played so well, at times we forget and just chuckle at silly antics.
