OP
OP
Anthony
Refugee
I despised that movie with a vengeance. Everyone was whiny and drowning in pitiful self-loathing, and Matt Damon irritated the hell out of me, as did Minnie Driver. I'm glad Robin Williams got an oscar (finally), because I think the man is not only insanely funny but really a talented actor, but still, his part was very average, if you ask me.
I disagree with you on Fargo, though.
Great movie. You're actually not too far off on that. Contrary to popular belief, and the movie's intro, Fargo is 'not' based on a true story, and these murders didn't in fact take place (at least, not as depicted in the movie). Fargo isn't even in Minnesota, its in North Dakota .The movie, like many Coen Brothers pictures, is a joke, so to speak. A superbly acted, scripted and elaborate one.
Coen Brothers take rarely take their films seriously in the conventional sense. They like to take old plot devices and genres and give it a whole new spin on them, sometimes even changing them so much you find it hard to even recognise the genre, but its still there. Their easiest example to follow is 'Miller's Crossing', a relatively 'strange' gangster movie, to say the least. Fargo is a rip off of film noir, as many of their films are, and also of 'the true story' film, essentially making fun of all those movies which begin with the 'this is based on a true story' and the oh so patronising 'our of respect for the people involved, their names have been changed' etc. Its one giant piss-take.
Oh, its a lot more than that, but the whole point (if there is a point in any Coen Brothers movie) is really not so much in trying to make a great statement on humanity, but to try to draw the audience into a world so familiar and bland, to catch them as off guard as as the unsuspecting participants in the movie. The only real 'freak' in the film, and even he takes time to unravel, is Peter Stormare's character, the silent one - the rest are all fairly conventional. They're all 'so' blandly normal, until their little eccentricities reveal themselves. Except for Marge (Frances McDormand's character), who is almost absurdly normal.
Again, they love doing this; starting with a very normal, very bland and very realistic setting, and then slowly (sometimes abruptly) tranforming/warping it. In this case, how can anything be more 'normal' in our minds than 'oh, its a true story'? With that device, the plot in the first half of the movie resonates a lot more and, to an extent, disturbs us more. Maybe it even amuses more. But in a way, yes - it is a joke.
Gosh, I love this movie.
Ant.
about bloody time sean penn got an oscar
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