When among my film loving friends I always have to defend myself for not really liking the work of the Coens. It is quite easy for me to sum up those films directed and produced by Joel and Ethan that did please me. I never saw the true genius of The Big Lebowsky and I thought O, Brother Where Art Thou to be quite annoying. I can see what I should feel is good about their films, they just don’t do that magical thing for me. A lot of people mentioned Fargo to be the best of the work of the Coens. And it was that very same disliking of their other work that kept me from watching Fargo. (Don’t label this as a review.)

So, concluding one might say I was pretty prejudiced, annoyed on forehand even, when we finally shoved the Fargo DVD in the player of a CoP author’s aunt (don’t ask, just read along). There were some things that kept me intrigued. First of all: all that snow. I like snow. Snow is good. Two: Frances McDormand. I like Frances. Frances is good. Third but not least: Steve Buscemi. I like Steve. Steve is good. So after having set my initial stubbornness aside I was ready for it.

In order to really enjoy Fargo I had to be made aware of the way people talk in Minnesota. I am sucker for weird accents and the first thing that struck me was the way people talked in Fargo. I am convinced it wasn’t even exaggerated. And the ‘yahs’ became funnier as time progressed. Another true genial thing was having a protagonist that is seven months pregnant. Who comes up with that? Many director would avoid such circumstances, because it can be highly inconvenient. To say the least. Not the Coens. And then there is all the snow. I read on good old IMDb, the Coens had to reschedule and relocate their shootings, due to snow disappearing faster than they could possibly utter a well-meant ‘yah’. Something told me, these people really loved what they were doing. This must be good and I must be wrong.

Yes, I am the first to admit I was, in fact, wrong. Although Fargo did not make up what I felt missed in O, Brother or Lebowsky, the film did, in fact, made me re-evaluate the writing and directing skills of Joel and Ethan. Fargo did not take away the annoyance of The Ladykillers (it even made me want to slap Tom Hanks even more) – but then again, true fans of the Coens told me they thought their remake of The Ladykillers wasn’t the best they could possibly come up with anyway.

What struck me most was the seemingly simplistic story. Where it was the biggest flaw in this reviewer’s humble opinion in all those other Coens films, it was absolutely perfection in Fargo. Fargo is much more about the way a small village community in the middle of snowy fucking nowhere officiates, than about plot development. You have to be pretty insane to have a gigantic wood chopper at the side of the road. The rather straight story is what made me focus on the psyches of the characters much more.

The leads don’t just thrive on sophisticated dialogues or ingenious events, rather they are able to flourish on their acting capacities. This without becoming too much of a caricature. I am the first to admit if I was wrong, if I was in fact wrong. I am also of the opinion as a reviewer you should set aside personal preferences and try to find what is good in everything you see. No film is an absolute zero. No film is an absolute ten. What I found in Fargo was an absolute passion during the making of it. The love for the characters. The secret love of the Coens’ birth ground. I am still not a Coens passionate or aficionado. Fargo, however, is a master piece. Period.

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