History Film / Fargo

* InMediasRes: A variation. The movie opens with Jerry bringing the tan Ciera to Fargo, North Dakota, which sets off the chain of events we see in the movie. Why exactly he is resorting to the measures he's currently taking is never spoken of and we never find out just what kind of trouble he was in before his trip to Fargo. The two conversations he has on the phone with [=GMAC=] regarding the car serial numbers implies he's been defrauding them for $320,000, though what exactly he needed the money for in the first place is never revealed.

* {{Nice G|uy}}irl: Marge is friendly, kind, and respectful to everyone she comes across. In a twist, her easy manner just makes her more awesome and helps her a lot when investigating. Many police investigators in real life use the same tactic to get people to open up to them. It's not only her attitude towards interviewees and suspects. She tells a police officer his blunder of thinking "DLR" was the first part of a license number (when officers use that to indicate dealer plates), but does it in the nicest way possible, then cracks a joke to make him laugh and relax. The only time this veneer gets close to shattering is when she meets with an old classmate who unsubtly hits on her and is obviously trying to get a date with her — knowing she's ''married'' -- and even when he puts her arms around her and she tells him off (gently), she apologizes.
* MyFriendsAndZoidberg: Wade tells Jerry that Jean and Scotty never have to worry about their financial future, ominously leaving Jerry out of that equation.

* TheNondescript: Grimsrud and especially Showalter seem to be rather featureless to the people of Minnesota (except that one is tall and the other is "small and funny-lookin', in a general kind of way"), even though Stormare and Buscemi are anything ''but'' nondescript.

* NoodleIncident: The $325,000 GMAC loan for which Jerry forged the VIN numbers of nonexistent cars. The viewer never finds out for what purpose Jerry got the money, or how he (presumably) lost it. Arguably, Jerry likely intended that part of the ransom money would be used to pay back the loan and get the persistent Reilly Diefenbach off his neck.

* SmarterThanYouLook:
** Marge may come across as a dumb country hick, but she's a very gifted detective and easily the smartest character in the movie.
** To a lesser extent, Jean. Her attempt to escape the two kidnappers by hiding in the shower next to the open window is surprisingly clever and almost fools them. Almost.

** Marge. For example, she shows no outward emotion about the murdered state trooper, saying neutrally, "He looks like a nice enough guy. It's a real shame."

* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Grimsrud is fond of flapjacks.

** The Swedish Grimsrud is unable to grasp the phrase "pancake house", referring to it as a "pancakes house". Peter Stormare thought that that was a typo and said the line as, "Where is the pancake house?" He was astonished when the Coens told him that he was ''supposed'' to say, [[IntentionalEngrishForFunny "Where is pancakes house?"]] [[note]]in case you are wondering, Swedish has no clear separation between singular and plural when forming a word into a new noun, and in colloquial Swedish one rarely talks about a single pancake unless asking for one more[[/note]]

* VisualPun: Filmsite [[http://www.filmsite.org/fargo3.html notes]] that Grimsrud kills Carl "like the proverbial Paul Bunyan", whose statue has appeared cryptically in several shots. Grimsrud even wears the same facial hair.

* WritingAroundTrademarks: Avoided, with GMAC and Oldsmobile featured prominently.

* HiddenDepths: Jerry is defined by his callous stupidity. However, he does manage to come up with a decent proposal for a real estate deal that impresses his usually mean-spirited father-in-law and his business partner. Unfortunately, he didn't anticipate them choosing to go about the deal themselves while offering Jerry a small finder's fee. The implication is that Jerry could be successful if he bothered to put more thought and work into his actions.

* AcousticLicense: Grimsrud fires a gun inside a car right beside his and Showalter's heads, and yet they don't seem to be deafened at all, and continue talking right afterward.

* BaitAndSwitch: During the kidnapping Jeannie sets it up to look like she's escaped out the bathroom window. A few minutes later, we and the kidnappers realize she's actually hiding in the shower. This is actually a savvy move on her part, but then she muffs her attempt to run for it.

** Gaear fucking Grimsrud.
** Shep Proudfoot, too, who is only more talkative than Gaear on account of having a vocabulary of "Yes", "No", and {{Cluster F Bomb}}s during beatings.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:The bad guys are either caught or dead, but they killed lots of people in the process, the money is most likely lost forever, Jerry's son now has no parents, and nobody really learns from their mistakes. However, Marge, her husband, and their future child supposedly live HappilyEverAfter.]]

* BrokenRecord: To accentuate the [[ObfuscatingStupidity simplicity]] of the characters, a lot of the dialogue is formed with this trope in mind.
* TheCameo: Creator/BruceCampbell as the man in the soap opera Grimsrud watches, although it was not recorded for the film; that's an actual regional soap that Bruce did indeed appear in.

* CluelessDetective: Subverted with Marge Gunderson. She appears clueless at first, but turns out to be easily the most competent and intelligent character involved in the movie's plot.

%%* TheConsigliere: Stan Grossman.%%
* ControlFreak: Wade. When dealing with kidnappers, he wants to somehow negotiate, and has to be told by Jerry and Wade's trusted partner that it isn't a "horse trade". To maintain ''some'' control of the situation, he unwisely tries to confront the kidnappers himself ''and'' brings a weapon, which leads to his death[[note]]if Showalter hadn't been shot by Wade, he might have just left and gone back, possibly in time to save Jerry's wife from being killed, and the parking lot attendant wouldn't have gotten killed either, so that's at least one, if not two deaths his need for control caused (one of them his daughter)[[/note]].

* DefectiveDetective: [[BaitAndSwitch Set up, but then averted]]. Marge Gunderson is pregnant, so MinnesotaNice that she comes across as simple-minded, obviously is in over her head in terms of it being a murder and her being small-town police, and her family life is kind of boring (although we eventually find out that she is HappilyMarried regardless). It turns out that she is a very good detective, and is one of the few characters in the movie who is actually competent at their job.

*** This even extends to his employee of the month picture; his is the only one that doesn't look like a dignified portrait, with his arms crossed in his lap and a big plastic smile on his face, displaying that he thinks he's more important than he actually is.

** After Grimsrud and Showalter have animated sex with two prostitutes in a hotel room, the four boredly watch ''Series/TheTonightShow'' afterward.
--->'''[[https://www.filmsite.org/fargo.html Filmsite.org]]:''' After a quick cut following the sex, they are sitting up in bed in their icy blue-tinged room. They are catatonic-- watching the Tonight Show (from Hollywood) on TV, like the rest of those living a bland existence in Middle America.
** Wade gets one, too. He's sitting in Jerry's home, watching the main TV, but doesn't even greet Jerry when he gets home or ask if Jerry's OK with what's on the television, then sharply questions Jerry and Jean's parenting later that evening. Later, he and Stan talk about cutting Jerry out of the $750,000 deal that Jerry devised -- ''in front of Jerry''. In short, his character's already established as a {{Jerkass}}.

* GoshDangItToHeck: A theme throughout the movie. The MinnesotaNice populace tend to mince their oaths.

* ActionMom: Marge hasn't given birth yet, but given her PregnantBadass status, not even giving birth will stop her being an ActionGirl.

* PregnantBadass: Marge might be the foremost example in cinema. She is seven months pregnant. Her badassery (though bordering on stupidity), is shown in the climax when she spots ''the'' brown Ciera and goes after it. One heavily pregnant policewoman against two extremely violent criminals (she's lucky that [[spoiler:one of them had already killed the other, and was unarmed and distracted disposing of the body when she finds him]]).
-->[''Marge bends over while looking at the woman shot in the car'']
-->'''Lou''': You see somethin', Marge?
-->'''Marge''': No, I think I'm gonna barf!

[=McDormand=] won the 1996 UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for Best Actress for her role as Gunderson, while the Coens won for Best Original Screenplay.

* CreditsGag: Musician and Minnesotan Music/{{Prince}} was credited as "Victim in Field". In reality, the victim was played by one of the film's sound guys. Promotional materials for the film were eager to mislead audiences into thinking that a famous person would make a cameo because [[Film/TheHudsuckerProxy the Coens' last film]] had nearly killed their career and [they thought this one would flop.

->''"And for what? For a little bit of money. There's more to life than a little money, you know. Don'tcha know that? And here ya are, and it's a beautiful day. Well. I just don't understand it."''

* PoeticJustice: [[spoiler:Grimsrud is shot in almost the exact same way he shot the first motorist: from behind, running away, apparently to nowhere.]]

* RuleOfDrama: Why does Marge drive to the middle of nowhere to [[spoiler:confront Grimsrud]], alone, instead of calling for backup? It's more thrilling that way[[note]]given how isolated the cabin is, it could be argued that she's out of range and can't call for backup, but we don't see that, and if that were the case she still really ought to drive back to where there's reception and ''then'' call it in. Best any cop by themselves - pregnant or not - in that situation should be doing is observing until the backup arrives so you can follow if the suspect tries to leave[[/note]].

* RuleOfDrama: Why does Marge drive to the middle of nowhere to [[spoiler:confront Grimsrud]], alone, instead of calling for backup? It's more thrilling that way.

* CreditsGag: Musician and Minnesotan Music/{{Prince}} was credited as "Victim in Field". In reality, the victim was played by one of the film's sound guys. Promotional materials for the film were eager to mislead audiences into thinking that a famous person would make a cameo because [[Film/TheHudsuckerProxy the Coens' last film]] had nearly killed their career and [[ItWillNeverCatchOn they thought this one would flop]].

** Instead of staying hidden while waiting for the ransom, he goes to a local bar (offscreen) and tells the bartender that he's staying "out by the lake," then needlessly intimidates him. The bartender tells the police about their encounter: Showalter's mentioning his temporary home means the police know approximately where to look for him.

* StupidEvil: Both kidnappers, but especially Showalter, who antagonizes Grimsrud over a few hundred dollars when leaving quietly would have landed him almost a million. He also sets off the entire PlethoraOfMistakes by not putting the correct tags on the car.

* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: Showalter and Grimsrud have a good time with some hookers, and then sit up in bed watching the TV without any conversation.

** Gaer Grimsrud has "You know?"

** Jerry's first scene includes a number of tells about his personality. He not only lies about being told the wrong time to meet the kidnappers (to cover up being late), he blames someone else. Jerry refuses to take responsibility and [[NeverMyFault blames others for his own failings]]. His big establishing scene, however, is when Jerry [[PassiveAggressiveCombat passive-aggressively]] strong-arms a pair of customers into buying a coat of protective paint they didn't want. He's a weaselly cheat and liar who no one likes.

--->'''[[https://www.filmsite.org/fargo.html Filmsite.org]]:''' After a quick cut following the sex, they are sitting up in bed in their icy blue-tinged room. They are catatonic -- watching the Tonight Show (from Hollywood) on TV, like the rest of those living a bland existence in Middle America.

''Fargo'' is a critically acclaimed [[BlackComedy dark comedy]]/crime movie from 1996, written and directed by Creator/TheCoenBrothers. It stars Creator/FrancesMcDormand, Creator/WilliamHMacy, Creator/SteveBuscemi, and Creator/PeterStormare. Taking place in the Upper Midwest circa 1987, the plot concerns Jerry Lundegaard (Macy), a bankrupt car salesman who stages the kidnapping of his wife in order to cheat the ransom out of her wealthy father. [[FromBadToWorse But then things go wrong.]]

Like many of the Coens' films, ''Fargo'' takes liberal inspiration from FilmNoir, [[AuthorAppeal one of their favorite subjects]]. But rather than being a straight GenreThrowback (like ''Film/BloodSimple'' and ''Film/MillersCrossing'') or an AffectionateParody (like ''Film/TheBigLebowski'' and ''Film/HailCaesar''), it's perhaps best described as a ''subversion'' of the genre. The story is a fairly straightforward tale of [[CriminalProcedural criminal intrigue]] and [[PoliceProcedural a dogged cop on a mission]], but it derives much of its subtle BlackComedy from its setting--taking place in the famously friendly, folksy Upper Midwest. Likewise, Frances [=McDormand's=] character Officer Marge Gunderson is a famous subversion of the archetypal HardboiledDetective, being a [[NiceGuy perfectly nice and well-adjusted]] [[ByTheBookCop police officer]] who spends most of the film galumphing around in a bulky parka while heavily pregnant.

Famous for having almost none of the plot take place in Fargo, UsefulNotes/NorthDakota. It instead largely takes place in Brainerd, UsefulNotes/{{Minnesota}}, but apparently that wouldn't make as good a title for the film. Popularized (or demonized) the Minnesota accent, with its sing song Scandinavian influences and northern twang. Super.[[note]]Pronounced SOOPER.[[/note]]

Also famous for the urban legend about a Japanese tourist freezing to death while searching for the treasure that Buscemi's character hides in the film. You betcha.[[note]]Said tourist was in fact suicidal, and deliberately went there to die. She did make a crack about Fargo, but the state troopers misunderstood it, ya?[[/note]] It was enough to spawn a [[https://vimeo.com/66512803 documentary about it]] — sadly more based on Film/LaJetee than the Coen Brothers' film style - and a [[Film/KumikoTheTreasureHunter fictionalized account]] starring Creator/RinkoKikuchi.

An aired-in-2003 (but filmed in 1997) [[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0382026/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 television pilot]] starred Creator/EdieFalco as Marge, but despite its praise, it wasn't picked up. The FX network began airing an [[Series/{{Fargo}} anthology series]] in 2014, with the Coens as executive producers.

* EightiesHair: The hookers Margie interviews and Jean to a lesser degree.
* ActionMom: Marge hasn't given birth yet, but given her PregnantBadass status, one knows that having the baby out of her won't stop her being an ActionGirl.
* AcousticLicense: Grimsrud fires a gun inside a car right beside his and Showalter's heads, and yet, they don't seem to be deafened at all, and continue talking right afterward.

** In-Universe; Marge delivers one to [[spoiler:Grimsrud, of all people,]] near the end of the film. It fits her [[BreakTheCutie dwindling (yet still prevalent)]] optimism of her character rather nicely.

-->'''Norm:''' ''(putting his hand on Marge's belly)'' Two more months.\\
'''Marge:''' ''(resting her hand on top of his)'' Two more months.

* BatDeduction: Marge meeting with Mike Yanagita and [[spoiler:being told that his sob story of his "wife" dying of cancer turned out to be a coverup for him stalking his "wife" until she moved away]] makes her suspect that Jerry wasn't telling the truth about any missing cars from his dealership.
* BasedOnAGreatBigLie: In theaters, and on the original versions of the DVD, the movie was preceded by a [[RomanAClef statement that the story was true, with names changed to protect those still alive.]] Yet the typical "all names and events are fictitious" disclaimer appears in the end credits. When asked, the Coens stated this was a device to encourage people to suspend disbelief. Apparently someone complained, because later pressings of the DVD are missing the pre-movie statement. Since the first bars of the opening theme played over the statement, it's replaced with a black screen during that time for those discs missing the statement. Though the Region 1 UsefulNotes/BluRay and the version shown on {{Creator/Netflix}} still maintains this statement, so Your DVD May Vary. The only things that may be based on reality would be Jerry using nonexistent dealership vehicles to scam loans from GMAC ([[https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2015/09/dealer-swindled-6-billion-general-motors/ as happened from 1980 to 1991]]) and the scene where Gaear is stuffing Carl's remains down the wood chipper. Such a method of disposing of a corpse had been done before as Richard Crafts of Newtown, Connecticut [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Helle_Crafts was convicted in 1989 of murdering his wife]] on November 19, 1986 and disposing of her body with a wood chipper.

** Gaear Fucking Grimsrud.

* BewareTheSillyOnes: Beware the Minnesota Nice Ones. Marge, who proves to be a tenacious son-of-a-gun in tracking the murderers.

* BirthDeathJuxtaposition: The scene of Gaear murdering his partner is followed by Marge lecturing him, and after a brief scene of Jerry failing to escape justice, has Marge and Norm celebrating her child's birth in two months.
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:The bad guys are either caught or dead, but they killed lots of people in the process, the money is most likely lost forever, Jerry's son now has no parents, and nobody really learned from their mistakes. However, Margie, her husband, and their future child supposedly live HappilyEverAfter.]]
* BlackAndWhiteMorality: Despite the very ambiguous tale, the motivations of the characters are pretty clear-cut throughout — Marge is a kindly, upbeat family woman, while Jerry is an idiot in over his head and the criminals he hires are scummy weasels. It's also the point; to contrast and juxtapose the relative "innocence" of the locals with the nigh-sociopathic brutality of the career criminals — mostly for a comedic effect.

* BoomHeadshot: Grimsrud gives one to the state trooper and the blood spills into Carl's lap.

* TheCameo: Creator/BruceCampbell as the man in the soap opera Grimsrud watches. Although it was not recorded for the film; that's an actual regional soap that Bruce did indeed appear in.

* CentralTheme: How valuing material wealth too highly destroys people and those around them.
* CluelessDeputy: Lou, from what we see of him. He thinks "DLR" was the license plate itself, and not shorthand for "'''d'''ea'''l'''e'''r''' plates (plates issued to the dealership that are used when an unregistered car has to be driven off the lot for whatever reason).

** Showalter, but he has good reason. He has one right before the parking garage shooting.

%%* TheConsigliere: Stan Grossman.
* ControlFreak: Wade. When dealing with kidnappers, he wants to somehow negotiate, and has to be told by Jerry and Wade's trusted partner that it isn't a "horse trade". To maintain ''some'' control of the situation, he unwisely tries to confront the kidnappers himself ''and'' brings a weapon, which leads to his death[[note]]If Showalter hadn't been shot by Wade, he might have just left and gone back in time to save Jerry's wife from being killed, and the parking lot attendant wouldn't have gotten killed either, so that's at least one, if not two deaths his need for control caused (one of them his daughter)[[/note]].

* DeadpanSnarker: She's extremely MinnesotaNice and indirect about it, but Margie has her moments. When she interrogates Shep Proudfoot about a mysterious phone call which he denies, she shoots holes through his story with a casual, folksy manner, almost as if she doesn't realize it. Then she points out that he could be considered an accomplice in the whole mess in an almost motherly fashion before returning to her normal, chirpy self and asking, "So do you think you might remember who called ya?".

* DefectiveDetective: [[BaitAndSwitch Set up but then averted]]. Marge Gunderson is pregnant, so MinnesotaNice that she comes across as simple-minded, obviously is in over her head in terms of it being a murder and her being small-town police, and her family life is kind of boring (although we eventually find out that she is HappilyMarried regardless). Turns out that she is a very good detective and, appearances aside, is one of the few characters in the movie who is actually competent at their job.
* {{Determinator}}: For a pregnant policewoman, Marge certainly does take a lot of risks, doggedly pursuing every option, and never giving up the hope of finding another clue.

* DidntThinkThisThrough: Jerry's entire plan. He hires two thugs whom he doesn't know and probably can't control, on the recommendation of a violent parolee, to kidnap his wife, and lies to them about the full amount of money being exchanged. He doesn't consider that the thugs might try to blackmail him for more money or that his stingy, bossy, and distrustful father-in-law might try to interfere rather than just hand over a million dollar ransom (of which Jerry was going to skim most of it for himself before giving the rest to the kidnappers). He also never considers how his wife and son will take the whole ordeal. Even if his plan had been successful, the paper trail of the [=GMAC=] car loans would make no sense and indicate some sort of fraud in Jerry's part.
* DirtyCoward: Jerry is too cowardly to admit that he's lost a bunch of money. Instead, he tries to steal money from his father-in-law to cover his debt.

* DumbBlonde: The prostitutes Marge talks to. All any of them can say about Showalter and Grimsrud is that Showalter was "funny lookin'" and that Grimsrud was Swedish. And after some prodding, that Showalter was uncircumcised. One of the prostitutes was Frances [=McDormand's=] accent coach for this movie. Think she did a pretty good job? Oh, yaaa. You betcha, yaaa.
* DissonantSerenity: Practically everything that Grimsrud does. It's as if nothing can shock him. Averted when he's watching a soap opera on TV, when one of the characters [[DramaBomb dramatically (and acting rather badly) proclaims]] to be pregnant and having the other character's baby he drops his fork in shock, but when Showalter comes crashing in through the door bleeding from a gunshot wound in his mouth, he's completely unfazed.

** After examining the dead state trooper, Marge comments that "...he looks like a nice enough guy...tsk...it's a real shame!" - showing right off the bat her tendency to see people as essentially good.

** After having animated sex with two prostitutes in a hotel room, the four boredly watch ''Series/TheTonightShow'' afterward.
--->'''[[https://www.filmsite.org/fargo.html Filmsite.org]]:''' After a quick cut following the sex, they are sitting up in bed in their icy blue-tinged room. They are catatonic - watching the Tonight Show (from Hollywood) on TV, like the rest of those living a bland existence in Middle America.
** Wade gets one, too. He's sitting in Jerry's home, watching the main TV, but doesn't even greet Jerry when he gets home or ask if Jerry's OK with what's on the television, then sharply questions Jerry and Jean's parenting later that evening. Later, he and Stan talk about ''cutting Jerry out of the $750,000 deal that Jerry devised'' -- in front of Jerry. In short, his character's already established as a {{Jerkass}}.

* EvilIsNotAToy: Non-supernatural example. Jerry thinks he can enrich himself with no real harm to his family by having two out-of-town thugs kidnap his wife and that they'll do what he wants them to. But the nominally smarter criminal can't even control the violent impulses of the other one, so a jellyfish like Jerry has no hope at all. And he failed to think even the "good" part of the equation through — how his father-in-law and especially his son would react.
* ExtremeMeleeRevenge: Shep Proudfoot to Carl Showalter. After finding out Carl and Gaear’s shenanigans have jeopardized his parole, Shep repeatedly tosses Carl across the room, repeatedly kick him, briefly strangle him with a telephone cable, before using said cable to whip Carl hard enough to leave bloody gashes. Needless to say, [[AssholeVictim Carl deserved every bit of it and more.]]

* FawltyTowersPlot: {{Deconstruct|ion}}ed. Jerry heaps so many falsehoods together, and involves so many people in his scheme, it's actually surprising he managed to keep it going as long as he did. However, true to the trope, it all spirals wildly out of control, and by the time the body count starts coming into play, [[OhCrap Jerry knows he's done for]].

** Mike for Jerry. Mike and Jerry are both pathetic, lying individuals who are passive-aggressive and will stoop to quite a few lows to get what they want. Mike's lying nature is what leads Marge to reconsider Jerry's story.

* GenreBusting: A neo-noir/thriller/black comedy, and that's just to start.

* TheGoodTheBadAndTheEvil: [[TheHero Marge Gunderson]] is the good, as she's an AllLovingHero who can't [[GoodCannotComprehendEvil understand how some people can be so cruel.]] [[DecoyProtagonist Jerry Lundegaarde]] is the bad, as he is an immoral businessman who's willing to put his wife in danger to cover up his own incompetence. [[BigBadDuumvirate Carl Showalter and Gaear Grimsrud]] are the evil for being the ones to commit the crime and kill quite a few people over the course of the film (even moreso in [[PsychoForHire Grimsrud's]] case).

* {{Greed}}: Almost ''everyone''. The original deal the criminals made — which is enough for them to start killing people like it's going out of style — was for a mere $40,000 cash and an ugly brown Oldsmobile Ciera, not a lot in the long run. Showalter later argues with his partner over a couple of hundred bucks when he's already [[spoiler:stolen a million, and it gets him an axe to the head]]. Even Wade haggles over the price on his daughter's head. Lampshaded by the [[GluttonousPig pig]] figurines all over the Lundegaards' house.

* HappilyEverAfter: The final shot involves Marge and Norm happily sitting in bed with the baby on the way. They even say they're "doing pretty good." There are no conflicts for these characters and no implications of problems in the future.

* HiddenDepths: Jerry is defined by his callous stupidity. However, he does manage to come up with a decent proposal for a real estate deal, that impresses his usually mean-spirited father in law and his business partner. Unfortunately, he didn't anticipate them choosing to go about the deal themselves, while offering Jerry a small finder's fee. The implication is that Jerry could be successful if he bothered to put more thought and work into his actions.
* HistoricalInJoke: When the stamp prices were increased in 1995 (a year before film's release) from 29 to 32 cents, there ''was'' a heavy demand for 3-cent stamps.
* HollywoodCopUniform: Taken up to eleven; the sheriff-like uniforms worn by Marge and her subordinates, with their seven-pointed stars and brown and tan coloring, are nothing like that of the real police of Brainerd, Minnesota, which is a standard blue one with an oval shield-shaped badge (however, the state trooper's uniform was more accurate). This seems to have been done deliberately to underscore the small-town nature of the characters.

* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: The two prostitutes aren't terribly bright, but they do come across as very friendly and rather sweet-natured.
* IHaveYourWife: Just as we planned. Invoked. Jerry planned the kidnapping to gain money from her rich father.
* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Jerry Lundegaard has his wife kidnapped as a means to pay off a debt using the ransom. The plan unravels almost instantly as the kidnappers aren't as competent or as sane as previously thought and his web of lies easily unravels, such as his inability to explain how a car disappeared from his lot. It's obvious he isn't very smart and probably had good intentions, making him more sympathetic than a villain who was selfish and manipulative.
* InMediasRes: A variation. The movie opens with Jerry bringing the tan Ciera to Fargo, North Dakota, which sets off the chain of events we see in the movie. Why exactly he is resorting to the measures he's currently taking is never spoken of and we never find out just what kind of trouble he was in before his trip to Fargo. Although the two conversations he has on the phone with [=GMAC=] regarding the car serial numbers implies he's been defrauding them for $320,000, though what exactly he needed the money for in the first place is never revealed.

* ItGetsEasier: Carl reacts with a resounding and shocked "Oh, ''daddy''!" to the first murder. He gets more and more angry and psychopathic as the film goes on 'til ''he's'' casually murdering people, too.

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: At one point while threatening Jerry over the phone, Carl says "30 minutes, and we'll wrap this thing up". He says this when there are thirty minutes left in the movie's runtime.

** After Grimsrud shoots the trooper, he tells the dumbstruck Showalter to drag the body off the road. Unfortunately, while Showalter is doing that, a car comes up from the other direction and slows down, the motorists having obviously noticed the dead cop's body. Grimsrud puts the Ciera in drive and chases down the two motorists, who overturn someways down the road. When he gets there, the driver starts to flee but is shot in the back by Grimsrud, who then steps up to the car, and shoots the female passenger.
** Carl murders the parking attendant (offscreen) after killing Wade in the parking garage.

* MinnesotaNice: Probably the definitive film example. Almost every character is always smiling and helpful. On top of that, they have thick Northern accents that leave no question in the audience’s minds where they are from. Some deride this movie for the stereotype while others embrace it.
* MinorCrimeRevealsMajorPlot: [[DefiedTrope Defied]] by Grimsrud. After pulling Carl and Grimsrud over for failing to display a [[https://legalbeagle.com/13710014-what-is-vehicle-registration.html license tag]], a state trooper begins to hear Jeans muffled screaming from the back of the car. Grimsrud Promptly grabs the officers head and [[BoomHeadshot shoots him at point blank range]].

* {{Nice G|uy}}irl: Marge is friendly, kind, and respectful to everyone she comes across. In a twist, her easy manner just makes her more awesome and helps her a lot when investigating. Many police investigators in real life use the same tactic to get people to open up to them. It's not only her attitude towards interviewees and suspects. She tells a police officer his blunder of thinking "DLR" was the first part of a license number (when officers use that to indicate dealer plates), but does it in the nicest way possible, then cracks a joke to make him laugh and relax. The only time this veneer gets close to shattering is when she meets with an old classmate who unsubtly hits on her and is obviously trying to get a date with her —- knowing she's ''married'' -- and even when he puts her arms around her and she tells him off (gently), she apologizes.

* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Given to Showalter by Shep Proudfoot after Marge interviews him about phone calls made from a hotel the perpetrators stayed at. Since Shep doesn't want to go back to Stillwater Prison, it's obvious he had motives.

* NonIndicativeName: There is a grand total of one scene in Fargo — and that's the beginning. Most of the action takes place in between the town of Brainerd, Minnesota, which is over 150 miles east, and the UsefulNotes/TwinCities, about the same distance east of Brainerd.

* ObnoxiousInLaws: Wade is a textbook example. Refuses to lend his son-in-law any money at all (even backhandedly mocking him for it) and screws him over on an investment. [[spoiler:His insistence in handling the money drop-off because he doesn't trust Jerry ends with his death (and the death of a parking attendant because he sees Showalter when he is making his getaway) and Showalter being injured]].
* OnlySaneMan: Marge is a classic example as she's easily the nicest and most level-headed character in the whole film.

* PapaWolf: Wade. DeconstructedTrope, however, in that his insistence in wanting to handle his daughter's kidnapping is tainted with his hatred of Jerry (who insists that the kidnappers wanted him to be the one giving the money, [[spoiler:and even if he wasn't the mastermind of the situation it could still have created a problem with the kidnappers]]), and thus exacerbates the problem [[spoiler:and leads to his death]].

* PregnantBadass: Marge might be the foremost example in cinema. She is seven months pregnant. Her badassery, (though bordering on stupidity), is shown in the climax when she spots ''the'' brown sierra and goes after it. One heavily pregnant policewoman against two extremely violent criminals (she's lucky that [[spoiler:one of them had already killed the other, and was unarmed and distracted disposing of the body when she finds him]]).
-->(''Marge bends over while looking at the woman shot in the car'')

* TheQuietOne: Grimsrud, [[AxCrazy though for good reason]]. To the point that when Peter Stormare first saw the script he almost couldn't find his part! Native American Shep also counts, responding in a similar manner as Grimsrud to Marge's questions, except for when he's beating Showalter for blowing his involvement.

* RuleOfSymbolism: Jerry, after his plan to raise money to pay for the loans is subverted by Wade and Stan, is shot in an extreme long shot of just him and his car, surrounded by snow, as he angrily chips the ice from his windshield -- emphasizing his isolation, ineffectiveness and powerlessness.

* RuleOfThree: A minor example: Twice Marge has a small slip on ice, but catches herself. [[spoiler: When she encounters Grimsrud on the lake, she very carefully sets her feet down, to prevent herself from slipping.]]

* SexInASharedRoom: A variation- Carl and Grimsrud both have sex with prostitutes in different beds in the same room. Afterwards all four watch TV.
* SherlockScan: Arriving at a few hours old crime scene, Marge deduces exactly what happened with a quick survey of the area, then figures out that the perp's car had dealer plates from the dead state trooper's memo.

** Showalter getting spotted by a couple of motorists while dragging the trooper's body parallels the scene where Marty drags a barely alive Ray while a truck comes in their direction. Sadly for Showalter (and them), the motorists can't mistake the trooper for drunk like the trucker did for Ray.
** Jean hiding in the bathroom to escape her pursuers is an inversion from what Abby does in her own scene: while Showalter assumes Jean escaped through the window when she was hiding behind the shower curtain, Visser checks the shower first before figuring out that Abby went through the window.
* ShootTheShaggyDog: For Jerry, at least. His attempt at trying to fund his business deal results in [[spoiler:his wife murdered, his wife's father murdered, and him in jail - and before that, the business deal was going to fail, anyway - and if it hadn't, he'd have been sued for another bad loan. And if the deal ''had'' gone through, Showalter would have buried the rest of the money instead of splitting it]].

* StalkerWithACrush: Mike Yanagita stalked a girl so much she had to move away, and he invented a story that he ''married'' her and she ''died'' - and uses that lie to try and get with a ''pregnant, married police officer'', blatantly hitting on her, because he needs a new "object of affection".
* TheStoic: Grimsrud, to the point of being TheSoulless. He rarely speaks and doesn't react when shocking and violent things happen around him, such as his partner storming through the front door with a bullet wound. Even when he kills, there is no rage behind his eyes. He likely feels no emotion at all, making him even more frightening.
** Marge. For example, she shows no outward emotion about the murdered state police, saying neutrally, "He looks like a nice enough guy. It's a real shame."
* StupidCrooks: Jerry's scheme to stage his wife's kidnapping in order to swindle money from his wealthy father-in-law go horribly awry once the two criminals he hired for the job are pulled over by a state trooper shortly after the kidnapping, because one of them forgot to replace the dealer plates with license plates. They make things worse by unsuccessfully trying to bribe the trooper, and end up killing him along with two witnesses, which only complicates things and calls more attention to their actions. Then more things happen that don't go according to plan, and more people die as a consequence of this, including [[spoiler:Jerry's wife]], which also leads us to...
* StupidEvil: Both kidnappers, but especially Showalter, who antagonizes Grimsrud over a few hundred dollars when leaving quietly would have landed him almost a million. Also setting off the entire PlethoraOfMistakes by not putting the correct tags on the car.
* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: The movie is basically a {{deconstruction}} of what you find in a crime-thriller.

*** Grimsrud gives chase, but instead of a drawn-out car chase like the movies, the other car veers off the road and flips over. Turns out driving full-speed down an icy road in the middle of the night, without even traffic lights is an accident in the making. Even without the driver probably being in a blind panic.

** Disposing of a dead body [[spoiler: via woodchipper isn't anywhere near as good an idea as it may sound. Not only does it take a long time, even without the woodchipper possibly jamming, it leaves a massive pool of blood that can't be cleaned and creates so much noise that Marge got the drop on Grimsrud and yelled at him from only a few feet away without him noticing.]]
** As Jerry finds out, being TheChessmaster is far easier in books and movies than in RealLife. Everything he planned winds up backfiring because of things he either didn't think through or had no control over, and it ends with [[spoiler: his wife, father-in-law and several innocent people all dead, him arrested while trying to flee and his son now effectively orphaned.]]
* SuspectIsHatless: The best description people can come up with for Showalter is that he's "kinda funny looking" - no mention of hair/eye color, height or anything. Grimsrud gets even less.

'''Marge:''' ''(frozen smile)'' Was he funny lookin' apart from that?

* TrickDialogue: Wade and Jerry, practicing their words.
* TrivialTitle: Only one scene (the opening scene in which Jerry meets Showalter and Grimsrud) takes place in Fargo. The rest takes place in the next state over, Minnesota, between the town of Brainerd and the UsefulNotes/TwinCities.
* TheUnfettered: Grimsrud. He has no reaction when they get the attention of a state trooper or when Showwalter gets shot.

** Minnesotans pepper their statements with "Ah, geez," "ya" and "don'tcha know."
** The Swedish Grimsrud is unable to grasp the phrase "pancake house", referring to it as a "pancakes house." Peter Stormare thought that that was a typo and said the line as, "Where is the pancake house?" He was astonished when the Coens told him that he was ''supposed'' to say, [[IntentionalEngrishForFunny "Where is pancakes house?"]] [[note]]In case you are wondering, Swedish has no clear separation between singular and plural when forming a word into a new noun and in colloquial Swedish one rarely talks about a single pancake unless asking for one more[[/note]]
* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: The whole movie makes fun of this, as the opening says it's based on a true story, but WordOfGod says it was just said as a joke.

* VisualPun: Filmsite [[http://www.filmsite.org/fargo3.html notes]] that Grimsrud kills Carl "like the proverbial Paul Bunyan," whose statue has appeared cryptically in several shots. Grimsrud even wears the same facial hair.

* WritingAroundTrademarks: Avoided with GMAC and Oldsmobile featured prominently.

** The eventual fate of Jerry and Jean's son, Scotty, is never revealed, though presumably [[spoiler: having lost his mother and grandfather to criminals and his father to prison, he was taken into care. Wade earlier said that Scotty and his mother will be OK (pointedly not including Jerry), which suggests that he has a will that would give her and Scotty his money in the event of his death. Scotty will have a tough time emotionally and personally, but at least he'll most likely be perfectly fine financially]].

Famous for having almost none of the plot take place in Fargo. It instead largely takes place in Brainerd, Minnesota, but apparently that wouldn't make as good a title for the film. Popularized (or demonized) the Minnesota accent, with its sing song Scandinavian influences and northern twang. Super.[[note]]Pronounced SOOPER.[[/note]]

* HollywoodCopUniform: Taken UpToEleven; the sheriff-like uniforms worn by Marge and her subordinates, with their seven-pointed stars and brown and tan coloring, are nothing like that of the real police of Brainerd, Minnesota, which is a standard blue one with an oval shield-shaped badge (however, the state trooper's uniform was more accurate). This seems to have been done deliberately to underscore the small-town nature of the characters.

** In-Universe; Marge delivers one to [[spoiler:Grimsrud, of all people,]] near the end of the film. It fits her [[BreakTheCutie dwindling (yet still prevalent)]] optimisim of her character rather nicely.

* AnAesop: In-Universe; Marge delivers one to [[spoiler:Grimsrud, of all people,]] near the end of the film. It fits her [[BreakTheCutie dwindling (yet still prevalent)]] optimisim of her character rather nicely.