Fargo (96)

6/7/96 & 1/10/97 & 4/16/97

Upon the third viewing I still saw things that I had missed. There's been some backlash against Frances McDormand winning the best actress Oscar. I was more impressed than ever with her performance. She has small town idocyncracies which are easy to focus on, but give no clue to her character. She is blessed with normal intelligence but could deduce a crime scene completely. This doesn't mean she can't be fooled, which happens during the 'what the hell did that have to do with it' scene in the bar with her asian schoolmate. But the horror that she feels when the entire crime is solved is terrific acting. Macy appears to be on the verge of exploding in all his scenes.
William H Macy Steve Buscemi Peter Stormare Kristin Rudrud Harve Presnell Tony Denman Gary Houston Sally Wingert Kurt Schweickhardt Larissa Kokernot Frances McDormand Cinematography by Roger Deakins Written by Ethan Coen and Joel Coen Directed by Joel Coen
40 critics 8.6 Ebert **** Maltin ***^ Stack 5.0 Shulgasser ***^ Schwarzbaum A
~~Academy Award Nomination For Best Picture of 1996
~~Academy Award Nomination For Best Director for Joel Coen
~~Academy Award Winner For Best Original Screenplay for Ethan Coen and Joel Coen
~~Academy Award Winner For Best Actress for Frances McDormand
~~Academy Award Nomination For Best Supporting Actor for William H. Macy
~~Academy Award Nomination For Best Cinematography for Roger Deakins
~~Academy Award Nomination For Best Editing for Ethan Coen and Joel Coen [using aliases]
~~Director's Guild Nomination For Best Director For Joel Coen
~~Screen Actor's Guild Award For Best Actress For Frances McDormand
~~New York Critics Award For Best Picture Of 1996
~~Los Angeles Critics Award For Best Screenplay For Ethan Coen and Joel Coen
~~Cannes Film Festival Award For Best Director For Joel Coen
~~Independent Spirit Award For Best Picture Of 1996
~~Independent Spirit Award For Best Director For Joel Coen
~~Independent Spirit Award For Best Screenplay For Ethan Coen and Joel Coen
~~Independent Spirit Award For Best Actress For Frances McDormand
~~Independent Spirit Award For Best Supporting Actor For William H. Macy
~~Independent Spirit Award For Best Cinematography For Roger Deakins
~~National Board Of Review Award For Best Director For Joel Coen
~~National Board Of Review Award For Best Actress For Frances McDormand
~~Cesar Nomination For Best Foreign Language Film of 1996
~~Golden Globe Nomination For Best Picture Of 1996
~~Golden Globe Nomination For Best Director For Joel Coen
~~Golden Globe Nomination For Best Screenplay For Ethan Coen and Joel Coen
~~Golden Globe Nomination For Best Actress For Frances McDormand
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