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Fargo was practically a comedy like Raising Arizona

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Jazz Inmate

In Reply to: RE: Oh come on! A "masterpiece?" If it were, how would you posted by tinear on February 19, 2008 at 16:13:01

One can argue that No Country is the first serious film from the Coens, in which they've told an entire story without relying on their trademark film devices or humor. Even if you don't want to admit it's their masterpiece, you have to say it's a very balanced, powerful film that dispenses with their "cute" ideas. Like when Marge says in her North Dakota accent, "and I suppose that's your partner in the woodchipper back there." That kind of comic relief is hugely entertaining on repeat viewings, but it effectively castrates the horror of the moment and to some extent is a copout. In No Country, the Coens didn't cop out and for the first time the film we got from them doesn't flinch from its own narrative flow.
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"I have found that if you love life, life will love you back." -Arthur Rubinstein (1887-1982)

Follow Ups:

The Coen Bros. just cannot not be funny. nt - geoffkait 12:03:53 02/20/08 (0)
nt
But is it truly comic relief? - Harmonia 22:17:11 02/19/08 (0)
I would've called it "irony", surely a Coen trademark, evident to some degree or other in all their movies. But Fargo is quite serious about the tragedy of its characters...in a Coen sort of way.

Fargo is quite different in tone from the operatic Millers Crossing, which is different again from the suspense of Blood Simple or the theatricality of Barton Fink. Raising Arizona is one of the most forthrightly comic, if you gotta have comic Cohens. Arizona is gleefully over the top, as is The Big Lebowsky, and to a lesser degree, Oh Brother Where Art Thou.

I don't think I'd agree NCFOM is the first serious Coen film. But I do think NCFOM, by taking much of its tone from the source novel,is by far their least self-consious effort, their most straightforward movie. Of course it is also imbued with the Coen's unbsique sensibility. But it does seem to me like a different, more restrained, tauter direction from their previous work.

I probably don't like it as much sa you but I like it better than Tin does ;-)
"Barton Fink," "Miller's Crossing," "The Man Who Wasn't There," - tinear 18:10:27 02/19/08 (4)
hardly are knee-slappers.
You didn't address any of the critical points I raised.
It's a nihilistic film.
I don't think anyone could see "Fargo" and think it was comedic. It was terribly brutal but it also showed some human feeling, expressed most often as humor, though the sheer number of murders and their brutality were as dark as those in any film. Hell, even Shakespeare, in a tragedy such as "Hamlet," balanced it with a few sprinkles of humor. Did those ruin the tragedy for you?
Film noir classics almost always had the bad guys get their just desserts. Showing them getting away, after a terrific shootout, rarely occurred but NEVER did they escape because of the cowardice of their pursuers.
It's an entertaining film, JI, but art shouldn't debase humanity.
- Go to your local video store and you'll find Barton Fink in the comedy section - Jazz Inmate 01:07:43 02/20/08 (1)
  No doubt there is a sardonic wit that runs through their films. Even in Miller's Crossing, when Turturro is pleading for his life, it's a very thin line between his acting there and outright farce. I didn't say the comedy ruined anything. The first time I ran through Fargo, I didn't even catch the humor. Now I can't see Buscemi's face without cracking up. As in Shakespeare, those levity devices make the tragedy easier to take and let's face it: part of the Coens' gift is their sense of humor and timing. But to really tackle a story like No Country, they needed to dispense with it, and I'm glad they did. Had they made this film in the 90s, scenes like the coin flip scene in the convenience store would have been peppered with humor. Instead, the Coens made sure the drama escalated with no hint of levity. That is a great achievement.
  As for debasing humanity, far from it. The protagonist and Llewelyn and his wife each faced inhumanity without giving in to it. Evil can never be defeated, but when you're no longer gung-ho to face it and fight it, it's time to step aside. That was part of the message of the film.
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  "I have found that if you love life, life will love you back." -Arthur Rubinstein (1887-1982)
  
  Edits: 02/20/08 02/20/08
  - And if you go to the WH, you�ll find George W. Bush sitting at the Oval Office (that is, when he is not... - orejones 11:28:20 02/20/08 (0)
    ...taking a nap in Crawford...)
    
    Too many films and idiots are not in their right places, it seems.
    
    Regards
    
    BF
- Add Blood Simple to the serious Coens' list. - Road Warrior 19:40:36 02/19/08 (0)
  Some humorous moments to be sure, but not a comedy.
  
  There's a muscle on her arm
  With a red and blue tatoo
  That says
  Fort Worth I love you
- "...art shouldn't debase humanity." - Sage. ~t - mpathus 19:09:08 02/19/08 (0)
  .

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