Fargo is set in a very unique environment, with snow all around and some very awkward and odd characters. Where this film shines is in its fairly interesting plot and well written characters. The Coen brothers showed off their intelligent and bizarre writing with a kidnapping goes wrong plot. It had great pacing and a clever set of events with the story shown from different perspectives in a refreshing way. While I found the key instigator character to this plot, Jerry Lundegaard, frustrating and irritating, other characters had some charm. Steve Buscemi's character, Carl, was particularly well done. The acting was on point, as you'd expect from Buscemi, and the character had some odd charm to him, he was comedic, down to earth and this created for an interesting sort of bad-guy. He was complimented nicely by the not-so-talkative Gaear, played by Peter Stormare. Gaear was a more typical bad-guy in being clearly ruthless and without remorse; but the pair made for an oddly fun couple of bad-guys. Marge Gunderson, played by Frances McDormand, was another well thought out character. She almost personified the town in her awkwardness and relationship with her husband but was funny and copper that fitted with the film very well.

Fargo is a wacky, quirky and weirdly humourous film which makes it stand out from a potentially saturated murder film genre.