Fargo
1996 · Movie · R · 98 min · ★ 7.9 · 92% critics
A debt-ridden car salesman cooks up a kidnapping-for-ransom scheme involving his wife and two hired criminals, expecting an easy payout. When the plan spirals into violence, a determined local police chief in snowy Minnesota follows the trail, piecing together what went wrong and why.
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Details
- Years
- 1996
- Release date
- 1996-03-08
- Language
- English
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 98 min
- Critic score
- 92/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.9/10 (9,108 votes)
- Box office
- $60,611,975
- Budget
- $7,000,000
About
If you enjoy dark, offbeat crime stories where small mistakes snowball into big trouble, this should land well; Not for you if you want light comedy or minimal violence, like The Big Lebowski.
Pros: darkly funny crime tale; memorable performances; tense, twisty momentum | Cons: violence can be harsh; humor feels very dry; some side bits meander
Themes
- salesclerk
- unsociability
- police
- cheating
- ransom
- winter
- kidnapping
- minnesota
- dark comedy
- north dakota
- money
- murder
- +11 more
Awards & recognition
- Academy Award — Best Writing, Original Screenplay · 1997
- Academy Award — Best Actress · 1997
- Writers Guild of America Award — Best Original Screenplay · 1997
- Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award — Best Film · 1996
- London Film Critics Circle Award — Film of the Year · 1996
Show all 14 awards →
- New York Film Critics Circle Award — Best Film · 1996
- National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
- Academy Award — Best Film Editing · 1997 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Cinematography · 1997 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Picture · 1997 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Supporting Actor · 1997 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Actress · 1997 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Director · 1997 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Writing, Original Screenplay · nominated
Cast & crew
Frances McDormand
as Marge Gunderson
William H. Macy
as Jerry Lundegaard
Steve Buscemi
as Carl Showalter
Peter Stormare
as Gaear Grimsrud
Harve Presnell
as Wade Gustafson
John Carroll Lynch
as Norm Gunderson
Kristin Rudrüd
as Jean Lundegaard
Bruce Bohne
as Lou
Steve Reevis
as Shep Proudfoot
Steve Park
as Mike Yanagita
Directed by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen