Fargo (1996)

Tagline: A homespun murder story.

Fargo movie storyline. Jerry works in his father-in-law’s car dealership and has gotten himself in financial problems. He tries various schemes to come up with money needed for a reason that is never really explained. It has to be assumed that his huge embezzlement of money from the dealership is about to be discovered by father-in-law.

When all else falls through, plans he set in motion earlier for two men to kidnap his wife for ransom to be paid by her wealthy father (who doesn’t seem to have the time of day for son-in-law). From the moment of the kidnapping, things go wrong and what was supposed to be a non-violent affair turns bloody with more blood added by the minute. Jerry is upset at the bloodshed, which turns loose a pregnant sheriff from Brainerd, MN who is tenacious in attempting to solve the three murders in her jurisdiction.

Fargo is a 1996 American black comedy crime thriller film written, produced, edited, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Frances McDormand stars as a pregnant Minnesota police chief investigating roadside homicides that ensue after a desperate car salesman (William H. Macy) hires two criminals (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) to kidnap his wife in order to extort a hefty ransom from his wealthy father-in-law (Harve Presnell).

Fargo premiered at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival, where Joel Coen won the festival’s Prix de la mise en scène (Best Director Award) and the film was nominated for the Palme d’Or. A critical and commercial success, Fargo received seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. McDormand received the Best Actress Oscar, and the Coens won in the Best Original Screenplay category.

The film was selected in 2006 for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”—one of only six films so designated in its first year of eligibility. The American Film Institute named it one of the 100 greatest American movies of all time in 1998. A Coen-produced FX television series of the same name, inspired by Fargo and taking place in the same universe, started in 2014 and was critically acclaimed.

Directed by: Joel Coen
Starring: Frances McDormand, William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi, Harve Presnell, Peter Stormare, Tony Denman, Gary Houston, Melissa Peterman, Larissa Kokernot
Screenplay by: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Production Design by: Rick Heinrichs
Cinematography by: Roger Deakins
Film Editing by: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Costume Design by: Mary Zophres
Set Decoration by: Lauri Gaffin
Art Direction by: Thomas P. Wilkins
Music by: Carter Burwell
MPAA Rating: R for strong violence, language and sexualit.
Distributed by: Gramercy Pictures
Release Date: March 8, 1996