The acting in this movie is superb! Frances McDormand was brilliant and her best actress nod was well-deserved. But I thought the best performance was from William H. Macy as the inept Jerry Lundegard. I could feel the emotions exuding from Macy's character as his situation got worse as the movie progressed.

The storyline is brilliant, without any major flaws, and it is helped by the fact that the movie "claims" to be based on a true story.

Overall, the combination of astute acting and wonderful character development from the script make this one of the best movies I have ever seen.