“Fargo” is a superb neo-noir black comedy from Joel and Ethan Coen that packs a riveting plot and a stellar ensemble cast. Set in Fargo, North Dakota, in the late 1980s, the movie claims to be based on real events. The plot is the tale of an unscrupulous car dealer who hires two goons to kidnap his own wife to elicit a bounty from his wealthy father-in-law.

It is a snowy winter season in Fargo when Jerry (William H. Macy), a car salesman, meets two eerie characters, Carl (Steve Buscemi) and Gaear (Peter Stormare), at a bar. He conspires with these goons to have his wife (Kristin Rudrüd) kidnapped. He proceeds to tell them that he is heavily in debt and wants to extort money from his rich father-in-law, Wade (Harve Presnell).

Jerry offers the men a sum of $40,000, half of the ransom he plans to collect from the aged businessman. He also hands them a brand new Oldsmobile Cutlass Sierra. In a subsequent scene, Jerry asks Wade for seed money for a real estate deal he wants to participate in. Meanwhile, the two goons take a break at a motel and enjoy time with two prostitutes.

After analyzing the prospects of returns on Jerry’s proposal, Wade and his assistant, Stan, decide to invest in the deal but pay Jerry only a paltry commission. Jerry, who was having second thoughts about abandoning the kidnapping plan, decides not to do so.

The kidnappers abduct Jerry’s wife from her home in Minnesota and flee the scene in their new car. The contrast between the two kidnappers could not be sharper. While Carl is loquacious and looks like a petty criminal, his partner is quiet and seems to have a very dark side.

As the two men flee the scene, they encounter a policeman near Brainerd, Minnesota. When the cop demands a driver’s license, Gaear shoots him down, along with two other witnesses who were at the scene. The men make their getaway.

Meanwhile, Jerry tells Wade about the kidnapping of his wife and insists that the kidnappers want to work exclusively with him, Jerry. He also convinces Wade not to bring in the authorities.

Meanwhile, a pregnant, happily married Marge (Frances McDormand) is going to work. The chief police officer of Brainerd, Marge soon plunges into the investigation. She comes to know that two men had stopped at a motel with dealer plates and then proceeds to interview two prostitutes who spent time with them to get a description of the two suspects.

She also finds out that a call was made from the motel to a dealership in Minnesota. She arrives in Minnesota to pay the dealership a visit.

The kidnappers now increase their ransom to $80,000 with Jerry. Jerry tells Wade that the ransom demanded is $1 million to make a sizable kickback from the deal. However, Wade has other plans.

The rest of the movie includes a series of plot twists, morbid humor, and a few more murders, leading to a great ending. “Fargo” would go on to earn the accolades of the critics and win two among its five Academy Award nominations. The movie’s scintillating screenplay would be one of these awards.

The outstanding cast of the movie deserves special consideration. Frances McDormand is outstanding as the relentless, pregnant Marge. Her brilliant performance would win her the Best Actress award at the 1997 Academy Awards. Having seen her in the first movie from the Coen brothers, one cannot but marvel at how far she has come as an actress.

William H. Macy plays the sleazy, unscrupulous, and unethical Jerry, the car dealer, effortlessly. His performance would earn him a nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards.

Harve Presnell is hilarious as Wade, Jerry’s father-in-law, who wants to see his daughter happy but could not care less for Jerry. Steve Buscemi is excellent as the ‘funny looking’ Carl, a crook who is simply not cut out for the job of the kidnapper. Peter Stormare is fearsome and evil as the unsympathetic, psychotic killer, Gaear.

The cinematography in the frigid snowy weather accentuates the dark, cold plot. This movie is another masterpiece from the Coen brothers, who have given us so many great movies. Do not miss this superb dark comedy neo-noir classic.