Fargo- ya? Oh ya.

Since their breakout film Blood Simple was released in 1984, the Coen brothers have been two of the more unique filmmakers of our time. They are a rare breed of filmmakers who have their own unique style and trademark that is recognizable to most moviegoers. Yet when they dabbled in alternative genres they do so seamlessly. Few filmmakers out there can say the same for themselves.
Fargo is the story of a man going through some financial difficulties who hires some small-time criminals to kidnap his wife in order to extort his father-in-law. When the proverbial shiznat hits the fan, a pregnant police deputy sets out to solve the crime. To most, this film comes off as a straight-up black comedy. It's oddball characters and situations seem to be straight out of a comedy 101 course. However, when you break down the film to it's bare parts this is more of a crime drama than comedy. The trick is in the writing. Fargo is a story about what small-time, average people would do when they become caught up in circumstances outside their understanding. Then you add in the Minnesota setting and all of a sudden our characters talk in funny accents and say funny things. But keep in mind this is how people talk in Minnesota. The cast are excellent as they play the characters very straight-laced but take full advantage of the perfect writing. In one memorable scene, William H. Macy practices what he's going to say when he calls his father-in-law to tell him about his wife being kidnapped. Wouldn't your average person do something similar? He's no pro, he's just a guy who's done something a little over his head. He has no idea what he's doing so he practices. It just so happens this situation is very funny. See what I'm getting at? Or the scene where the wife, in an attempt to elude her captors, takes off at a run with a sack over her head. She can't see so she's running around like a whacko which is what any normal person would do, but it's funny. This is why when the film turns violent it's such a shock. It really is not shocking at all, we just think it is.
To sum it up, Fargo is what intelligent film making is all about. It's a story that is written so perfectly that it appears to be something more than it is. Imagine watching two pit bulls fighting and one kills the other in brutal fashion. Messed up, right? Now replace those pit bulls with chihuahua's and have a similar result. It'd be funny up until one dog is brutally killed. That's Fargo.