Fargo (1996)

**Essential Coen Brothers** This new quarterly series showcases the “essential” films everyone should see on the big screen. For each month-long program, we’ll screen five films organized by one of the following themes: directors, actors, genres, and eras/movements. Essential tickets are $9 for Adults, $8 for Students/Seniors and Members get in Free! Fargo (1996) is a self-proclaimed "homespun murder story" set in the white-washed, winter wilderness of the frozen and bleak Upper Midwest. An anomaly of categorization, the contemporary masterpiece is a film noir (with stark white vistas and backdrops), a satirical comedy, a suspenseful crime drama, and a violent mystery thriller. The Coen Brothers' film is an original mix of black mirth and murder that both delights and disturbs the viewer. The off-beat, absurdist morality tale from the creative and original producing/writing/directing collaborative team of Joel and Ethan Coen is unlike many of their previous films, with a straight-forward, realistic narrative devoid of their typically quirky and bizarre sequences. A kidnapping gone awry, a triple homicide (a highway patrolman and two innocent passersby), two contrasting families (the male-dominated Lundegaards and the female-dominated Gundersons), the corruptible effects of fast food, TV watching and pecuniary greed, and a hapless extortion scheme make up the film's story, but the major strong point is the realistic performances of the two leads. [filmsite.org] May 6 & 7: Blood Simple May 13 & 14: Raising Arizona May 20 & 21: Fargo (1996) May 27 & 28: O Brother Where Art Thou (2001) June 3 & 4: No Country for Old Men (2007)