73 - "Fargo" (1996)

     The Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan, are always an enigma to me. I fully appreciate their talents as writers, producers and directors and several of their films I have really enjoyed but others just haven't connected with me at all. Out of all their films though, Fargo is the one that really stands out to me as the cream of the crop and is the only one to make this list. William H. Macy stars as Jerry Lundegaard, a car salesman who has gotten himself into a financial mess and hires two thugs to kidnap his wife and he will split the ransom money with them when his father-in-law pays up. It sounds good in theory except for the fact that Jerry is by no means a criminal mastermind, to say the least. The two goons he hires, Steve Buscemi playing one of them brilliantly, aren't exactly the world's best criminals either, but are very dangerous. Frances McDormand won a Best Actress Oscar for her role as Marge Gunderson, the local sheriff who also happens to be pregnant. She begins piecing together the clues which ultimately leads her to Jerry and the two begin a cat and mouse game. Can Jerry get his money before Marge gets all the evidence she needs? Fargo plays well as a mystery but can also be very funny at times and yet violent also. It has a wonderful script, also written by the Coens, and the acting is all super.