In case you were wondering why this week's banner was All About The Margie, now you know -- today is the 20th anniversary of
Fargo! The film got a limited release on March 8th 1996, and it went wide a few weeks later -- since I was in college in upstate New York at the time I probably didn't see it until some time in April, but I actually have an incredibly vivid memory of seeing the film (which is surprising because my memory is usually riddled with holes).
It was my very first visit to
The Little, the first-class art-house theater in Rochester, New York, and I saw the movie with this guy Chris, who was a good friend of my then boyfriend. (Hi Chris where ever you are!) Anyway I ended up working at the Little for my last couple of years of college, so my love for that particular small-city institution was born right here and right there by the Coens. Not hard to buy, right?
I particularly remember the "This Is A True Story" title-card contrasted against the "This is a work of fiction..." during the end-credits striking me at the time -- I'd never seen that sort of purposeful tweaking of the "truth" before, and it felt weirdly like a violation? It felt transgressive enough, to my still-developing cineaste's brain, to leave a mark anyway.
Coincidentally today also happens to be
International Women's Day, and since
Fargo has one of the greatest lead female characters of all time (heck Marge Gunderson as delivered by Frances McDormand is one of the greatest female characters of all time, lead
or supporting) I figured I'd focus in on the women in the film for today's celebration. There actually aren't a lot! In fact there are five, unless I'm missing somebody. So here, a list of...
The Five Female Characters In Fargo!
1. Okay I am cheating right off the bat, counting the two hookers as one, but they're such a tag-team I think you'll forgive me. They do everything together: Fuck, Watch Carson, Appreciate Da Bears. They finish each other's sentences and thoughts, even. I mean clearly he was just kind of funny-looking, since these two agree.
2. By far the largest female role in the film besides McDormand, I think Kristin Rudrüd is this movie's unsung secret weapon. Poor Jean Lundegaard, surrounding by dopes and assholes and dopey assholes, entirely unaware of the fact until it's way way way way too late. She puts up a good fight when she can, at least. But what happens to Jean smarts because of how clear Rudrüd makes it that this perfectly nice lady didn't have any of this coming.
3. I love this waitress so much. I know that she's considered one of the film's so-called "punchlines" that people cite when they want to make arguments about the Coens being mean to their characters and judgmental of this place, but that just strikes me as snobbery - she's perfect; the Midwest distilled to a side-nod.
4. The wife of the guy who's getting "true-coat" forced upon him at Jerry's car-dealership really makes this scene work - her silent exasperation set against her husband's increasing verbal exasperation is the Laurel to his Hardy. She makes everything ten times funnier with her sighing and nodding.
5. Yup, yet another prostitute! (I'm sure the think-pieces about this movie's high hooker percentage has already been written somewhere on the internet.) But jeez does this lady milk her lopsided expressions for all they're worth. My favorite bit of dialogue from this scene is when Buscemi asks her if she likes escorting and her goofy agreeableness melts away and she's all, "
What are you talkin' about?"
BONUS: I considered counting "Linda Cooksey," the woman that Mike Yanagita supposedly stalked, but we never do get to see Linda. Still - MIKE YANAGITA!!!
.
