Cast and Crew: Carter Burwell (Music); William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare
What It’s About: Minnesota sheriff Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) must solve the murders that result from an ineptly planned kidnapping.
Why Watch it Today?: Minnesota received statehood today in 1858. Fargo remains one of the few films set in Minnesota, fixing the state in the national imagination. It also just happens to be an often hilarious crime film from the Coen brothers, with a great cast lead by McDormand, who won an Oscar for her performance.
And it’s still my favorite Coen film, no matter how many hipsters try to convert me with their Dude Gospel. As an escaped resident of the Midwest, I can say without irony that, yes, they got it down as well as they could and still be true to their own ethos.
I’m not sure I have a favorite Coen film, there are so many good ones. It’s probably easier for me to list the ones I don’t like as much as the others as it is to just pick one. That being said, I adored The Big Lebowski when it came out (and yes, I realize this damns me to being called a hipster) before it was much of a cult hit. Mainly because I love how it subverts the Detective Genre, one of my favorite genres, and more specifically how it parodies The Big Sleep.