Fargo

I actually sat through Fargo (1996) twice for this review. I can honestly say that, yes, it’s very well made. Its screenplay is certainly clever. Its pitch-black humor has an appeal. Its unflinching punctuations of bloody violence are startling attention-getters. Frances McDormand makes for a splendidly offbeat heroine. OK, fine. In other words, I cannot fault this Coen Brothers’ crime yarn about a “fake” kidnapping gone horribly wrong — mostly because everyone involved is amazingly stupid or psychotic or both. Steve Buscemi manages the not inconsiderable feat of being both ridiculous and scary. I could go on, but the truth is I just can’t seem to respond to the film. The lack of any characters to care about as concerns what happens to them — McDormand’s police officer is never really at risk — just makes the movie a non-starter for me. Others clearly disagree, and as a champion of the Coens I wish I liked the film better, but it hasn’t happened yet. Maybe one day.

Wedge Brewery will show Fargo on Sat., Aug. 16. Films start 15 minutes after sundown. They are shown outside. We have a limited number of chairs, so it’s a good idea to pack a folding chair or a blanket, and maybe a jacket because it does get chilly when the sun goes down. El Kimchi has great Mexican/Korean street food for purchase, but no popcorn! So, if popcorn is part of someone’s movie experience, they’ll need to pack that, too.