Topic > "Fargo" Movie Analysis

Who doesn't love a good mystery and a funny Minnesota accent? Well, Fargo provides both and more. Fargo is based on a true story set in Minnesota in 1987. The film's plot revolves around the film's protagonist and a hilarious pregnant police officer during a harsh Minnesota winter. The protagonist is called Jerry Lundegaard who finds himself in a difficult situation on the verge of bankruptcy. Jerry is desperate for money and develops a sick and diabolical plan to pay off his debt. Jerry goes so far as to hire two street thugs to kidnap his wife for ransom in order to get the ransom money from his father-in-law who doesn't love him. The plan blows up in his face resulting in two deaths and the lovable police officer on his trail. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The film is so well done in so many ways. We talked a lot at the beginning of the course about film protagonists and this film is a great example of a prototypical protagonist. The camera work is also excellent as it captures the brutal Minnesota winter beautifully. The acting in the film is also amazing and really makes you believe that you are watching a true story unfold right before your eyes. All these elements of the film and the fantastic plot make it a more than worthy candidate to be on the list of films. One of my biggest points in why this film should be included in the lineup is the great use of aerial shots used throughout the film. One point that I think the director really tried to make in recreating this true story, is that it was filmed in the harsh Minnesota winter, which made solving the mystery even more difficult. The camera work and aerial shots capture all of this beautifully. As the Filmsite review of the film states: "The film opens with a memorable blinding blizzard in 'dead' winter, causing the screen to be drenched in the white of the vast snowy landscape with no recognizable landmarks." (filmsite.org). What makes this camera so special is that the fantastic aerial shots are evident throughout the film and not just in one particular scene. The director goes out of his way to continually provide these breathtaking shots of Minnesota in winter, which makes the film more intriguing and believable from a narrative perspective. Furthermore, the director does a great job of illustrating how the setting of this brutal winter dictates. how characters behave and feel frustrated. In my opinion, Fargo differentiates itself by showing how much can be done in a film through setting and camera work. Fargo does a great job of establishing the protagonist role. This film, in my opinion, provides one of the best examples of what a true protagonist is. As mentioned above, Jerry is the protagonist of the film and he is the one pulling the strings. The film does an amazing job of showing how he orchestrates every action in the film. Everything that happens is directly related to what Jerry chooses to do. Fargo does a great job of letting the story unfold through the actions of Jerry Lundeegard, capturing a perfect image of the antagonist. Another important lesson we covered was the Film Noir era. In my opinion Fargo captures the elements of Film Noir throughout the film. As Molly Rose of steedproductions.com states, "Fargo feels more like a traditional film noir. Throughout the film, Deakins' lighting scheme relies mostly on daylight or extra bright bulbs placed in lamps on the screen, occasionally complemented by hidden lights. This technique is extremely.