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Fargo is a 1996 film directed and produced by the Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan. Though it can be ascribed to a number of genres it is primarily a dark comedy. It also shares features of a crime drama and a neo-noir. Fargo excels in combining the morose and horrific components of crime with a bleak comical style. The antagonists incompetency and the protagonists adeptness elevate the narrative into something that nearly resembles modern mythos. The film was also written by the brothers and includes homages, references, and direct influence from their own lives. The setting of small-town North Dakota and Minneapolis which serve as the primary locations in the film are native to the Coen brothers who grew up in St. Louis Park. Unique features of the screenplay include the distinct mannerisms, dialects, and behaviors of the many Minnesotan characters. It is vital for screenplays to present characters with specific and identifiable voices and identities which are successfully accomplished in Fargo.
Much of the locations and settings within Fargo appear bleak, plain, and static. This can be seen both in exterior and interior places, though certain outliers have a cozier ensemble, such as the home of police chief Marge Gunderson. The blandness or boldness of color becomes a highly effective technique within the film as a result. This is especially true for the appearance of blood, a foreign and stark contrasting shade that emerges in an otherwise completely barren area. The use of color is an addition to a component of camerawork that presents the seemingly uninteresting setting of Fargo as having hidden substance and mystique. Restrained framing is vital to the narrative of Fargo and for the establishment of characters. It is best exemplified in the scene in which Jerry Lundegaard understands that his life is falling apart in every way. Jerry is sitting at his office desk and talking on the phone, but the shot is taken from behind shutters that descend vertically. Effectively, Jerry is cut into pieces and imprisoned behind faux bars at the same time.
Fargo utilizes an editing technique that almost facilitates a sense of absent editing. This is known as parallel action, a cut back and forth between two events that are occurring at once or not, and creates a sense of third-person viewership for the audience. Because the narrative of Fargo is complex and based on mystery, the inter-cutting is essential to create an atmosphere of suspense and the steady unraveling of the conflict. The editing may seem simplistic at first but is largely effective in increasing the focus on character themes and interactions that are at the heart of the film. The battle between good and evil is the central theme of the film and its fable-like quality is best exemplified by the selected music for the movie. Carter Burwell, the composer for many Coen films, was also the score writer for Fargo. One of the interesting selections made by Burwell was the recurrence of a Norwegian folk song, Den Bortkomne Sauen, translated to The Lost Sheep (So Many Songbooks, 2020). Many of the characters in the film can be seen as aimlessly wandering the empty and desolate land as if lost.
The majority of the effects in Fargo are practical and occurred as a result of technical difficulties. For instance, most of the snow visible in the film is artificial or placed purposefully as there was little snow during the filming (Probst, 2020). Certain night scenes were filmed with special yellow-orange sodium vapor for an eerie visual tint. Particular shots even include both cold and warm lightning simultaneously with very vivid contrast. I personally really like the film primarily for its narrative scope, character creation, and thematic choices. Classical story themes that were once popularized through myth, fables, or folklore are often exchanged for an exclusively modern perspective. However, Fargo manages to place dated principles and themes within a recognizable landscape. Additionally, the characters are a direct creation of their environment which makes them both archetypes and unique to the viewer. While each character can be ascribed a traditional folkloric role, they are also distinct to Minnesota in the 90s.
The Coen brothers would continue to create films with very unique visual components and peculiar characters. In fact, Fargo would become a television series in 2014 and retain many features of the original film such as the balance of good and evil, the hidden depths of people, and crime. While the film is a clear product of its time, as a comedy it remains not only entertaining but relevant. While there are many outstanding performances in Fargo, Frances McDormand as the police chief is exceptionally well-done as she is able to express the drama, crime, and comedy of the film. McDormand compliments her environment, both polite, kind, and even pregnant while operating as a police officer that faces a grizzly shoot-out. Fargo was successful in regard to the box office, the critics, and awards both at the time of its release and as it continues to receive praise today. However, what is exceptional about Fargo is its perfect combination of many technical components into one whole. Every feature of the film, from the sound design to the script, rejects the industry standard to some extent but does not deviate from the thematic goal of the story.
References
Probst, C. (2020). Fargo: Cold-Blooded Scheming. American Cinematographer. Web.
So Many Songbooks. (2020). Carter Burwell: Fargo, North Dakota (based on the folk melody, Den Bortkomne Sauen ). So Many Songbooks. Web.
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