"Fargo" is a highly overrated film which I assume is mainly due to the manipulation of the Coen Brothers claiming it was not only a true story but that it was also being told exactly as the actual events occurred. When you snap yourself out of being manipulated into believing it is true you see the film is highly flawed and unbuyable. We are expected to believe that the police would question someone and just fall for what he pulled on them with no questions asked and completely forget about the lead altogether. Then we are to believe that an out of the blue phone call from an old schoolmate just happened to result in a get together that somehow brings upon thoughts that she was being duped in the initial interview prompting her to go back with more gumption and do her job the way it should have been done to begin with. That is just one of many flaws in the film and do not get me started on the cartoonish film work. The greatness of the performances is also over exaggerated and should not have won Oscar gold. As far as the screenplay I suppose when you take in to account that they gave that Oscar to "The Usual Suspects" the year before, which also was highly manipulative and a much worse movie - in fact it is by far the worst movie to ever make it to the Oscars, it seems par for the course.