Fargo is one twisted and highly original film, yah, you betcha! The Coen brothers, who write, direct, and produce all their movies cooperatively, reached new satirical heights with this one, based loosely on true events. They won the Academy Award for screenwriting, and Frances McDormand took home an Oscar for Best Actress.

Best Laid Plans

William H. Macy plays Jerry Lundegaard, a wormy car salesman in Brainerd, Minnesota. He needs money, and his rich father-in-law won't help him, so he goes to Fargo to recruit two lowlifes (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) to kidnap his wife. Dad will pay the ransom, which will be split between Jerry and the kidnappers, and everything will be "hunky-dory."

Except, of course, things don't go according to plan, and a routine traffic stop results in two deaths. Enter Marge Gunderson (McDormand), the hugely pregnant sheriff in Brainerd. She waddles through her investigation, tossing around cheerful, folksy expressions such as "you're dern tootin'!" Underestimating her would be a big, big mistake. Marge is the calm center as things spin more and more out of control, leading to the Coen brothers trademark: appalling violence that you can't help laughing at.

This film was hugely admired by audiences and critics alike. The cinematography makes the frozen hinterlands both bleak and poetic, and the actors are exceptional. Whatever bizarre turns the plot takes, Marge and Jerry are real people, never slipping down into caricatures.