CultureTV: Fargo - Season 1 **Light SPOILERS** I don’t even know where to start. This series is REALLY good. In a ‘I-wasn’t-ready-for-it’ kind of way and its largely due to the outstanding cast and creator/writer/showrunner Noah Hawley. He has somehow (and I’m not sure how) captured the essence of the Coen Bros. masterpiece while creating something that’s entirely fresh and original. A heady achievement especially considering the creative weight of the source material. Sequences like the blizzard white-out shootout, the heavy drum tracks opening another episode, and the sequence with Billy Bob’s shooting spree (shot w/ camera viewpoint on the outside), are all evidence of a great cinematic style. Plus, there’s the most recent ep where Hawley turned everything upside down with two episodes still left in the season. In the same way that some critics called “Am. Hustle” punk-Scorsese, this almost feels like punk-Coen bros. for a new generation. Thoroughly impressed with Mr. Hawley’s command of this show. Then there’s Allison Tolman who is stupendous as Molly Solverson, the unofficial TV version of McDormand’s Marge. She’s an actress with a solid theater background and it shows. Very strong work and she deserves her ‘breakout star’ status. I pray to the Emmy gods that she gets the recognition she deserves. The Molly character is smart, plucky, and she always lives to fight another day. Plus, Ms. Tolman is a very pretty average-sized female and its nice to see that on TV. Im becoming a huge fan and while I understand that season 2 will feature new characters, I sincerely hope we’ll see more of Molly as well. More on the actress here: nydailynews/entertainment/tv/allison-tolman-chills-sudden-fame-fargo-article-1.1814293 Martin Freeman (Sherlock, The Office), the actor who originated the Jim Halpert character in the UK’s Office, also gives an Emmy-worthy performance of a man who has been stomped on by life and suddenly decides to stomp back. My only quibble with the show would be the Billy Bob character. BBT is great as Malvo, let’s get that straight. However, after 8 eps (for me) his character still feels completely undefined. Similar to Javier Bardem in NO COUNTRY, I think he’s supposed to feel like a mystery but, I knew who JB was 30 minutes into movie. I still have no idea who Malvo really is or what motivates his character. Hoping that the final two eps will flesh him out more. But that’s a small complaint for an otherwise very big show. Highly recommended.
Posted on: Tue, 10 Jun 2014 18:54:40 +0000
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