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Fargo is Fantastic!

19856.jpgFargo, is a show loosely based off and tied into the movie of the same name. Created by Noah Hawley the show stars Martin Freeman as Lester Nygaard, a wimpy short spineless insurance salesman, can't get much better than that, whose life in Bemidji Minnesota is awfully boring. His wife, Pearl, played by Kelly Holden Bashar, is a hen pecker of the worst kind and his brother Chaz, played by Joshua Close, is about as successful as Lester is pathetic. Through a strange course of events, Lester meets Lorne Malvo, played by Billy Bob Thorton, at a hospital. Malvo, a psychopathic hitman, can't help but offer his assistance to Lester, willing or not. A story occurring over 2 years occurs as police officer Molly Solverson, played by Allison Tolman, of Bemidji and police officer Gus Grimley, played by Colin Hanks, of Duluth attempt to uncover the strange events that occurred as a result of Lester and Lorne meeting in that fateful hospital room.

With a superb cast, excellent writing, and a storyline that is at times fantastical but still maintains its touch with reality, Fargo is a must see. Thorton truly transforms into Malvo and his acting technique is on full display as Malvo morphs from one character to the next. The same can be said of Freeman who goes through some transformations of his own. Allison Tolman is also quite excellent within this role effectively navigating and displaying the hilarious stupidity that was quite prevalent within Fargo, the film. She has some scenes in particular that presents the viewer with the inner struggle she is experiencing while investigating this case.

The themes, the quotes, and the stories that are on display within this show is also quite similar to that of True Detective and I can understand, but still strongly oppose, why Billy Bob Thornton won and why McConaughey did not. The characters themselves are similar both representing different sides of the same coin, while Rust has some psychopathic tendencies, Malvo's tendencies are on full display and the world is his oyster. Malvo sees the bad in the world, represents it, and utilizes it to get what he wants. Rust sees the bad in the world, attempts to manipulate it and halt it, while also seeing the good in the world. In the end, Rust believes that "the light" is winning while Malvo only sees the darkness. I personally believe a great story would involve Malvo and Rust combatting each other, but I digress.

The study of man and his relationship to his ego, greed, and power is portrayed throughout Fargo. Similar to Breaking Bad, Fargo attempts to show how grey humanity truly is, meaning that there is no individual who is completely good or bad, there is only a need for more power. The characters within this show struggle with the ego within themselves, the ego of others, and the ego of the world as a whole. Due to this, viewers as a whole would benefit from a psychological study of each character because by understanding them, they, in turn, could understand themselves.

Fargo is an excellent show that will definitely be in direct competition with True Detective. It is completely immersive, fairly believable and a great depiction of excellent writing.

Written by cwm on Jan 28, 2015

Comments

BaruchLalaev posted 2 years ago

ending of season 2 is fantastic!

zoebug98 posted 8 years ago

Enjoyed the movie and liking the show.

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