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The Banality of Virtue
"FARGO"
Directed by Joel Coen. Starring Frances McDormand, William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi.
By LAURA MILLERThe Coen brothers (Joel directs, Ethan produces) belong to that breed of young filmmakers who make movies about other movies. Their last effort, "The Hudsucker Proxy," resembled a rangy fun house haunted by the ghosts of classics like "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town," "His Girl Friday," and "The Apartment" and more recent style-setters like "Blue Velvet" and "Batman." The routine, but not unwarranted, complaint about the brothers -- who have also given us "Blood Simple," "Raising Arizona" and "Barton Fink" -- is that they are oh, such clever boys, but heartless.
The Coen's most recent movie, "Fargo," has a chastened air, as if they have come to us hats in hand with the promise that this time around they're really going to try to put some emotion into it. Very, very weirdly, they've chosen to riff on that most unfashionable of cinematic past masters, Ingmar Bergman. Gone are the roller coaster camerawork and over-the-top art direction that usually characterize their work. "Fargo" (as in North Dakota) looks austere and pinched, alternating stark, frostbitten exteriors with dull interiors soaked in coffee-colored shadows.
Next page: The importance of not invoking Ingmar
