Fargo inspires a love-it-or-hate-it response. Most on the "hate-it" side can't get past the violence or the northern accents. For me, it ranks solidly in my all-time top ten.

Frances McDormand won an overdue and well-deserved Oscar for her role, but William H. Macy is at the center of this film. He plays such a dislikable, cloying worm that the image sticks with me when I see him in other films. But at the end, I still am able to sympathize with him, and truly feel sorry for his decent into the gutter. (There but for the grace of God go any of us).

The plot is simple but it is the delivery that makes the movie great. Fargo takes you to a barren North Dakota winter and makes it come alive. The cinematography is amongst the best you will ever see, making interesting and captivating images out of nothing.

Pay close attention to the final scene - it is pure genius. On the surface, it seems detached from the movie, but deep down, it is one of the great pieces of character development in film history. In two minutes of "non-plot-related" dialogue, you learn a great deal about the main character - who she is inside.

What a great movie. **** out of ****