For my final paper I chose Fargo due to the fact that film noir was my favorite genre of films that I was introduced to in this class and it has amazing reviews, but I had never seen it. First off I love how the film opens "the following story is based on real events" disclaimer, it sets the viewer up to think they are about to see a powerful drama, then it catches them off-guard with a black sort of morbid comedy. Even from there, the opening shot shows the car driving down a dark empty road accompanied by some very appropriate music to makes us believe that it’s going to be a high action or suspenseful film, but the real colors of the movie quickly start to show through. This film changes an ordinary, Midwestern town upside down with a triple homicide and makes for a movie that can have the audience questioning their faith in humanity. I think that this film fits into the ordinary film noir genre, but turns it into a comedy/high drama, of Jerry’s despicable greed and his search of his idea of the “American Dream”. Slightly off subject, as far as “typical” noir films go I was surprised at the high saturation of light they used in this film even during very dark times/situations. I feel like this film removes the cliche of a typical police investigator. Marge is not the typical maverick cop we see in most investigative films, but a woman that is happily married to possibly the most painfully boring human being on earth, but a good husband, Norm. Marge’s scenes with Norm have a down home warm feeling that reminds us of the “true American dream” not money, as she reminds Gaear and at the end of the movie saying “There’s more to life than money and it’s a beautiful day”. I also liked how Marge is portrayed as a woman that couldn’t hurt a fly let alone shoot someone, but in the end showed her toughness buried under all of the sweetness and purity. This film’s application of comedy was perfect. For example When Marge is talking with the prostitutes about the killers and the conversation gets awkward with all of the “yahs”, or even the accent the directors chose in itself, or an even on a darker side when Jerry’s wife is let out of the car and runs around blind. I feel like this movie is more of a black comedy than anything else. With all of the deaths and things going wrong (Which I generally don’t do well with) I felt it was easy and entertaining to watch. Take Jerry for example he is the cliche of a used car salesman, and an absolute waste of space, almost like he was born destined to fail, and he knows it, the viewers are let in on this aspect early on, not that I have anything against car salesmen… The comedy I find with Jerry is watching him dig himself deeper and deeper with every step he takes. We’ve all heard that the definition of insanity is expecting a different outcome by doing the same things over and over again. Jerry makes one ill-advised decision after another, over and over again, each time expecting it to work and ends with him being dragged out of a hotel room squealing like a four year old child that is about to get a beating. The other characters are hilarious, too. Aside from Marge, it seems like every character in the movie is an absolute moron. Being from a small town in Nebraska a lot of the shots taken in this film hit close to home for me given all of the snow and the wide open spaces and small town demeanor. For instance when Carl squats down by the fence, looks over both shoulders, and looks to the vast empty horison. This was an extreme long shot and taken from a high angle. It really shows how long and slow the walk is when he goes to his car, which at this point is just a tiny flake on a big blanket of white snow. Welcome to the rural Midwest… The loved how the overlapping stories in this film tend to form a drama based on a three act structure, teeming with moments of high anxiety and the excitement of the audience not being able to predict the direction things are going to go, Jerry’s life is spiraling out of control driven by his own choices, which leads to his ultimate self-destruction. Fargo is one of the best possible examples of film noir, a movie filled with scenes that unfold with a power driven by the directors employing several tones for each of them funny, scary and suspenseful all at the same time. The hostile resistance of Jerry and Marge’s back and forth make up the core of the film, given they are only in two scenes together. Marge is a strong and exceptionally skilled police officer that I feel could be much more than a local cop married to a simpleton, but has found a very comfortable place in her ordinary life, completely free from having to show too much ambition as far as promotions and things go or any material concerns. Jerry, on the other hand, has big plans for himself. He wants so much to be like his crusty, manly father-in-law and sees money as his way to a seat sitting with the big boys. Like so many other careless dreamers, his plans blow up in his face in remarkable way. Fargo is therefor a warning about the dangers of a foolish pursuit of The “American dream”, and just a big red caution sign to anyone who invests too much into the proverb that the streets of America are paved with gold and that he with the most stuff/money wins. “There’s more to life than money yah know and it’s a beautiful day.”