Dec. 01, 2002 - 8:09 pm
just glancing through the IMDb's top 250 again for movie rental ideas, i came across number 76 here which i haven't seen basically since it came out. i was talking to my friend Keith who said he hadn't seen this film since we watched it together back in 1997 i guess it was. he said he barely remembered it as well. anyway, i knew that i'd enjoy it so i checked out this classic Coen brothers film. interesting bit of trivia i'm seeing on the IMDb here..."the film is not, in fact 'Based on a true story.'"
of course, since it's a Coen brothers film, there's some sort of crime that takes place. actually this film pretty much revolves around a few crimes and how they tie into each other. first there's a car salesman who seems to have been doing something illegal w/ his company's money. he needs to get a lot of money to replace what he's stolen and the only way he can get it is from his father-in-law. and he won't be able to get it out of the old jerk very easily. so he stages a kidnapping of his own wife. the kidnapping goes a little haywire and all sorts of people get killed. and we also see the side story of the pregnant police officer that is trying to track down the two men who did the kidnapping.
i like the way certain directors over the past few years have chosen to use some of the same actors and actresses repeatedly. as long as you have good taste in actors, it really works. three of the actors in this film have been in other Coen brothers pictures. Peter Stormare, Steve Buscemi, and Frances McDormand. Frances McDormand actually won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in this film. i think she's generally always this good, but maybe that's just me.
it's weird, i feel like this film is simple but complicated at the same time. so i'm finding it hard to comment on. well i guess the best thing to do is just move on. more top-rated IMDb films to come...