Fargo (1996)

I'm working on something —you'll see what it is next month— which requires me to rewatch many films I haven't seen in ages because watching a new film every day doesn't leave a lot of room for rewatches, and the Coen Brothers Fargo was the first on the list that I was yet to review. 

The story follows Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy), a sales manager at a car dealership who needs his father-in-law's (Harve Presnell) money to get out of his financial troubles. He comes up with a plan to hire someone to kidnap his wife (Kristin Rudrüd) and demand ransom from her wealthy father, but things don't go according to plan, soon three people are dead and police chief Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) starts investigating.

If you have never seen Fargo —I have absolutely no idea what you're doing with your life if you haven't though—, there essentially are two stories, one about the kidnap, one about the murder investigation. Two simple, straightforward and yet compelling and clever stories that eventually meet to make one of the best crime stories ever written as everything happens for a reason and the final outcome is the product of a working mind, not a series of lucky guesses nor the "good guys always win" cliché.

The characters too are wonderfully written. They are original, memorable characters; there's something likeable about each one of them, Jerry being the only exception, and you care about them, even about the kidnappers. Most of all, they are complex, well-rounded characters.

Jerry is a fool who can't handle anything, specifically responsibility, and he's probably the worst criminal cinema has ever seen. He is a compulsive liar, someone so greedy who is willing to have his wife kidnapped to extort money from his rich father-in-law, someone who doesn't think twice before abandoning his son to save his own life. He is an ignorant, vile man with no moral compass. And William H. Macy is perfect as the pathetic car salesman.

Gramercy Pictures

Marge is easily the best character as well as one of the greatest characters in film history. She is a fleshed-out human being with emotions and a truly golden heart. She is so sweet, likeable and optimistic. She is a smart, strong woman who proves you can have it all, that you can be a woman and still have a professional life as well as a personal life, and the relationship with her loving, supportive husband —according to the backstory McDormand and Lynch created, they met in the police force and when they got married and had to chose which one had to quit, Marge stayed because she was the better officer, as opposed to her quitting because she is the wife— is one of the most heartwarming in cinema. There's a subplot at some point involving a high school classmate; some people will argue that it's utterly pointless and adds nothing to the film, but it's not true as it further develops Marge as it shows that she cares about everyone, even about people she barely knows. Frances McDormand rightfully won an Oscar as she gives a charming, sensational performance as the pregnant police chief, able to capture the strength and good manners as well as the naïveté of small town folks.

The supporting cast is also a delight. Steve Buscemi is fantastic as Carl Showalter, a fast-talking criminal, and steals every scene he is in. Peter Stormare is brilliant as Gaear Grimsrud, the quiet, dumb-looking criminal. Harve Presnell gives a memorable performance as Jerry's cruel and determined father-in-law. John Carroll Lynch is perfect as Marge's great husband, Norm.

In addition, Fargo is filled with quirky dialogue, dark humour just when needed to lighten up a bit the tone of the film, and laugh-out-loud hilarious one-liners. Roger Deakins's cinematography is superb, and the score is beautifully haunting.

Friends with Money (2006)

Just like yesterday's film, Friends with Money too was mentioned by Steven from Surrender to the Void earlier this year for the meltdowns week of the Thursday Movie Picks series. And just like yesterday's film, it sounded interesting, specifically because of Frances McDormand's meltdown scene, and I decided to check it out. 

The film follows a group of four girlfriends: three of them, Franny (Joan Cusack), Christine (Catherine Keener) and Jane (Frances McDormand) are wealthy and married; the fourth, Olivia (Jennifer Aniston), is a single former teacher who now works as a maid. While Franny, Christine and Jane find themselves in various stages of marriage —Franny is very happy with her husband Matt (Greg Germann), Christine keeps fighting with her husband David (Jason Isaacs) over the silliest things and Jane is constantly angry as she's afraid her husband Aaron (Simon McBurney) may be gay—, Olivia struggles to find a good man. 

The plot to this film doesn't really go anywhere. There's barely a plot, actually, as all the movie does is depicting the desperately sad marriages/love lives of four rich, spoiled women. Also, there are many elements —the three couples having kids, for instance— that could have been easily left out and absolutely nothing would have changed as they have no impact whatsoever on the story. Despite this, the story is compelling because the issues these women are facing are real, whether it's money related or dealing with the world in general. And it is so engaging I didn't want it to end —I was happy with the ending but at the same time I was unhappy with it because that meant I couldn't follow the lives of these women anymore.

Which is crazy considering that the characters don't have a lot of depth, lack development and only have a glimpse of characterization. We are not given any backstory either and because of it, it's impossible to figure out why the four women became friends in the first place as it doesn't seem like they have anything in common —at some point one of the women tells another that if they were to meet under their current circumstances, they might not become friends. Shouldn't we then know why they became friends?

Sony Pictures Classics

The cast, on the other hand, is delightful. Frances McDormand is terrific as Jane, a neurotic and frustrated designer who is losing control. Hers is a very annoying character but she turns her into such an entertaining and sympathetic one. Cathrine Keener does a nice job as Christine, but she could have been great if director and writer Nicole Holofcener bothered giving her a more developed character. Jennifer Aniston is very likeable and kind of relatable as Olivia, the miserably broke and single friend. The standout, however, is Simon McBurney as he is truly outstanding as the maybe gay husband.

Ultimately, Friends with Money could have used a better script —the dialogue is quite enthralling though—, but overall the film is pretty fun and entertaining, the cast does an amazing job and the meltdown scene featuring Frances McDormand is priceless.