It's probably inevitable that, after hearing so much about its greatness, 'Fargo' proves something of a minor disappointment. After numerous critical successes {including their finest film to date, 'Miller's Crossing (1990)' and the Palme d'Or-winning 'Barton Fink (1991)'}, Joel and Ethan Coen apparently struck gold with 'Fargo (1996),' the "true story" of a kidnapping and murder in the icy wastelands of Minnesota. The film is a thematic retread of the brothers' debut picture, 'Blood Simple (1984)' {of which I was not overly-fond}, and explores how a seemingly-simple crime can escalate into the tragic and devastating destruction of innocent (and not-so-innocent) lives. The Coens would return once again to this popular theme with the accomplished film-noir, 'The Man Who Wasn't There (2001),' which is arguably one of their best efforts. 'Fargo' was the filmmakers' first real Oscar success, retrieving seven Academy Award nominations and two wins (Best Writing and Best Actress in a Leading Role {Francis McDormand}). However, the film's Best Picture chances were upset by Anthony Minghella's majestic wartime romance epic, 'The English Patient.'

In a dreary small-town region of the United States, where the road is perpetually covered in frost and a sheet of ice affixes itself to your car windscreen, money-troubled father Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy) plots a simple, fool-proof method of acquiring funds. He hires two dubious-looking thugs (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) to kidnap his own wife (Kristin Rudrüd), in order to extort ransom money from his wealthy, domineering father-in-law (Wade Gustafson). However, things don't go quite to plan, and after the two low-life criminals murder a state trooper and two passing witnesses, local Brainerd Chief of Police Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) arrives to investigate. She, like almost every other character in the film, has the jovial disposition and exaggerated mannerisms of typical Midwestern small-town folk, discussing a triple-homicide as though somebody has just stolen a cookie from the jar, and making frequent use of such quaint phrases as "You betcha," "Aw Jeez," "Okie-Dokie" and "Yah."

The Coens have done a lot right with 'Fargo.' Their decision to blend a thrilling tale of deceit and murder with moments of satirical  almost slapstick  comedy creates a unique and interesting contrast that sets the film apart from most thrillers. William H. Macy is at his jittery best as a potential con-man so hopelessly inept that he can't call off the dangerous ruse because he never acquired the kidnappers' phone number. Steve Buscemi is, likewise, fantastic as Carl Showalter, a "funny-looking" weasel with a hot temper. Peter Stormare is suitably psychotic as the sullen but dangerous Gaear Grimsrud, even if his role just required him to remain silent and look creepy. Then we come to Frances McDormand (a.k.a. Mrs. Joel Coen), who, regardless of her talents as an actress, has annoyed me in every film in which I've seen her {which basically just covers 'Blood Simple,' 'Fargo' and 'The Man Who Wasn't There,' though to a lesser extent in the latter}.

I know that Marge Gunderson is supposed to be one of the Coen Brothers' most entertaining creations, but her character somehow seemed so pointless. We spend all our time following her lightweight attempts at an investigation, and yet all I cared about was the kidnapping and how Jerry was coping with it all. Perhaps to hide the fact that Marge has almost nothing to do, the Coens toss in a couple of extraneous, dead-end minor characters who serve no purpose other than to distract me from the more exciting segments of the story. All things considered, 'Fargo' is a solid, albeit flawed, thriller/comedy that is characteristic of the Coens in every respect. Allow me to reiterate that William H. Macy was absolutely phenomenal, and definitely gives the film's greatest performance, though I did think that his character gave himself away too easily. In the grand scheme of things, 'Fargo' could certainly scrape into the directors' top five films, though my hope is that their latest release, 'No Country For Old Men (2007),' will oust it from the list.