Fargo
Short description
Jerry Lundegaard, a car salesman in a small Minnesota town, is deep in debt and works at the dealership owned by his wealthy father-in-law. He arranges for two small-time criminals to kidnap his wife so that a ransom can be collected from her father, expecting the scheme to pass without anyone getting hurt. The plan goes badly wrong, and violence leaves several people dead along a snowy highway. Marge Gunderson, the local police chief, heavily pregnant and methodical, takes up the case and follows it while the men involved lose control of what they set in motion.
Joel and Ethan Coen wrote the screenplay, and Joel directed; Ethan produced. Fargo is the sixth feature the brothers directed, following The Hudsucker Proxy and preceding The Big Lebowski. Frances McDormand plays Marge, with William H. Macy as Jerry, Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare as the kidnappers, and Harve Presnell and John Carroll Lynch in supporting roles.
Made for about 7 million dollars, the film returned roughly 61 million worldwide, a strong result for its budget. On IMDb it holds 8.1 from some 783,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.8 from around 9,400. A critics' rating of 9.2 from 110 reviews places it clearly above the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- The snowplow that drives past the motel at the end of the film was not part of the script. Special signs warned motorists that filming was taking place, but a state employee ignored them.
- The scene where a couple argues with Jerry at the car dealership precisely mirrors a scene that happened to Ethan Coen in real life.
- The snow-covered fields and highway are one of the editing special effects.
- This is one of the few films in Hollywood history where the events take place only 9 years before the film's release.
- Joel and Ethan Coen did not want frequent mentions in the credits (as screenwriters, directors, producers), so they invented the editor "Roderick Jaynes," who was subsequently nominated for an Oscar. The brothers wanted to have Albert Finney portray Jaynes, but members of the Academy dissuaded them.
- A whole year was spent on the editing of 'Fargo' (1995).
- The role of Carl was written specifically for Steve Buscemi.
- Just before the film's release, Joel and Ethan Coen stated in all interviews that it was based on real events. According to them, in 1987 they read in a newspaper a note about a man in Connecticut who put his wife into a wood chipper. However, the text contained no mention of a car dealer, kidnapping, or hired criminals. In another interview, the brothers said they heard the story from a friend in Minnesota. Later, Ethan confessed to his old friend and assistant, William Preston Robertson, that most of the film was fictional and that even "The Big Lebowski" (1998) contained more truthful elements than "Fargo."
- The film is set in winter, but the crew encountered abnormally warm weather at the shooting locations, so they had to find new landscapes with snow. Filming ultimately took place in Minneapolis and its surroundings. These locations were chosen because that's where the film's directors spent their childhood. Artificial snow had to be used in many scenes.
- The film was shot in February-March 1995 in the state of Minnesota.
- Initially, the directors wanted to give William H. Macy a small role, but after the audition, they asked him to read for the part of Jerry Lundegaard. Still undecided, they auditioned other actors as well. Finally, Macy flew to New York and began pursuing the brothers, trying to convince them to cast him in the lead role. He repeatedly stated that he would shoot their dogs if they refused.
- Some film critics call this film a typical postmodern picture, and, by the way, "Fargo" (1995) features numerous borrowings from Quentin Tarantino’s "Pulp Fiction" (1994), which was released a year earlier.
Similar movies
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
