Summary
This Channel 4 import from the FX cable network in the US is a 10-part comedy/drama is inspired by the 1996 Oscar-winning Coen Brothers movie. Fargo concerns a professional assassin named Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton) who finds himself temporarily marooned in the small-town of Bemidji, Minnesota. He decides to pass the time by making trouble for meek insurance salesman Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman). What worked
Freeman and Thornton's first-class performances, plus the beautiful cinematography and a well-written script. What didn't work
More could have been done to paint Lester's wife in a worse light because the moment Lester snaps felt like it came out of nowhere and wasn't justified. Full Review
We're seeing a good deal of big-screen properties transfer to the small-screen lately: Hannibal, Bates Motel, From Dusk till Dawn, the upcoming Rosemary's Baby etc
"On hearing about a Fargo mini-series, the very idea felt pointless."
The thinking appears to be that audiences are so consumed by TV, studios need to cut through this digital din by pitching remakes of stories with which people are already familiar, or else lean on brand recognition.
On hearing about a Fargo mini-series, the very idea felt pointless. Fortunately, screenwriter Noah Hawley (Bones) knew there was no improving on the Coen's original production so he wisely decided to tell another "true crime" story with fresh characters.
However, he retained the film's curious tone, especially its memorable use of the town folks' "Minnesota nice" demeanour ("Yah, youbetcha!").
In this version, an inscrutable killer named Lorne Malvo - who arrives in town after crashing his car on an icy road - gets acquainted with local Lester Nygaard - an uncharismatic, unassertive, cowardly doormat of a man.
We meet Lester drearily talking about a broken washing machine with his wife Pearl (Kelly Holden) over breakfast, before being intimidated by alpha male Sam Hess (Kevin O'Grady) after work.
Lester's in such desperate need of a backbone, you can't help but get excited when he meets hitman Lorne and inadvertently grants "permission" for Lorne to kill Hess... which in turn triggers all manner of darkly comic mishaps. Fargo's superlative production values
Fargo looks and feels like a feature film as its first episode unfolds. That works in its favour here, although time will tell if this good first impression can last another nine episodes.
The film wrapped its own story in a mere 98 minutes - and we're already 68 minutes into the TV version's storyline. Assuming there will be enough twists and turns to maintain our attention, Fargo is already shaping up to be a top drama of 2014.
The pilot's script was tight and the amusing characters were interesting, while the storyline felt immediately compelling. The balance of dark and light material was also expertly judged, as there was enough humour keeping things feeling light, which only made the violence and creepiness more effective.
The stand-out performance belongs to Martin Freeman (The Office, Sherlock); his American accent quickly settled into sounding very natural. Lester is similar to a few characters in Freeman's oeuvre (a naïve bumbler), but there was also plenty new for him to do here.
It was great watching him in this twitchy role; he's naturally a very sympathetic actor so he brought humanity to a part that could have been more cartoon-y in less skilled hands.
Beautiful to behold and slick in presentation, Fargo makes for an excellent companion to the movie that inspired it. A witty look at what happens when a manipulative devil spends a few days in a town full of people with psychological buttons to press. Verdict: Fargo's opener was a top-notch hour of drama .
What other reviewers said
The Guardian - "What could have been a disaster, enraging Fargo aficionados, is a respectful homage."
The Telegraph - "Much of the joy of this Fargo was derived from the seemingly inconsequential things." What people on Twitter said
Amanda Abbington (Martin Freeman's partner) - "Wow. Just wow. #Fargo"
Emmett J. Scanlan (The Fall, ex-Hollyoaks) - "FARGO series on @Channel4 was awesome."
@stuheritage - "If every episode of Fargo is like the first one, I will be a very happy boy." The views in this article are those of the author alone and not of MSN or Microsoft
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