I’ve recently finished FX’s wonderful series Fargo starring the tator loving Billy Bob Thornton. Before watching the show I pulled out 1996’s Fargo, just to refresh the ol’ mind. The movie is filled with dark comedy that I didn’t really get in the 90’s as a teen, but after rewatching it almost 20 years later, I was howling. Indeed, as we get older, life just gets more cynical.

If you love the film, you will most likely appreciate the show, and to really drive home how serious the creators of the show were, they tacked on the Coen Brothers to help with production. So which is better? Well, let’s figure out who wins in a little competition…

SPOILERS AHEAD. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy)

One of Macy’s most applauded roles, Lundegaard is a ball of hopeless nerves. Noticeably anxious about everything, he has come up with an idea to earn some cash by hiring a couple of thugs to kidnap his wife for a ransom transaction through her father. Lundegaard is noticeably a bit more greedy than his TV show counterpart, and seems to show no guilt towards his wife’s demise. Lundegaard really has no moment in the film where he can be “liked,” but like many of the characters in this film, it is easy to build up a bit of sympathy because most of them are extremely undereducated and very slow. It also should be mentioned that Lundegaard is a car salesman, so the show and the film establish that this particular character is indeed a salesman.

Lester Nygaarde (Martin Freeman)

The central character of the show, Lester is a confused insurance salesman who starts out as clueless and buffoonish as his film counterpart. Lester, however, goes through a very deep transformation. He moves from incompetent dork to a very calculating figure who eventually manages to outsmart himself. Lester manages to fill a scope of reactions from viewers such as pity, anger, disgust, and then pity all over again. As the show ends there is a moment shared with a couple of FBI agents (Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele of Key and Peele fame) where Lester’s ignorance may have been a mixture of his anxiety and a well thought out plan. His reaction with the bad guys of the show are a bit more chaotic than the film, as he is not trying to set something up to score a ransom check. Where Lundegaard set everything up, Nygaarde actually fell into the workings of Lorne Malvo.

WINNER: Lester Nygaarde



I had to go with Martin Freeman in this show because he managed to really sell the Lester character. I felt that Macy’s portrayal was one dimensional, while Freeman managed to be lively and well-rounded. I think Freeman researched Macy’s role, and built off of it. By doing that he made a better character. Just seeing the evolution of Lester Nygaarde was an experience all on its own!

Jean Lundegaard (Kristin Rudrüd)

Jean is the daughter of the rich dickhead, Wade Gustafson. She loves her husband, Jerry Lundegaard, dearly and shows nothing but love and concern for her troubled husband. While he works and panics about bills, Jean cares for him and coddles him. She truly is the serving wife who cares for her man. The fact that Jerry gets Jean killed makes it easy to hate him. Even in the face of financial ruin, Jean seems to never hold any anger against her husband. She is kind of dumb, and is a strong source of duress for her captors up until the rather sad moment where she is killed. Jean trusted her husband unquestionably, and even though her character did not have a powerful presence, she helped frame Jerry’s lack of morality.

Pearl Nygaard (Kelly Holden Bashar)

Lester’s wife is nothing short of a bitch. Lester begins this show as a character that the viewer pities. He is a weak and beaten down man who just wants to be left alone, but his lack of masculine characteristics is highlighted by every character he comes into contact with, especially Pearl. The acting of Pearl was okay, but Lester’s wife was not a very influential character. Her death was primarily used as a stepping stone for Lester to man up and Lorne Malvo was the catalyst. I did applaud her death because I dislike mean people and abusive spouses. She was not a huge figure in the show and while I believe her death was absolutely necessary as is, I think the writers could have built her up as a more vile character at least.

WINNER: Fargo Film

This was difficult because these two characters are opposites. Pearl is an asshole and Jean is a dimwit. I choose Jean because she was an important figure throughout the film, and a relationship was allowed to be built (somewhat) with viewers. Pearl is unlikable and lacks any significant character development. Pearl Nygaarde feels so underdeveloped, she feels like a an extra. Perhaps some flashbacks, or maybe keeping her in for the first few episodes to build the tension would have made her a better character.

Gaear Grimsrud (Peter Stormare)

Gaear is easily the most evil person in this film and he shows no remorse for his actions. He has no pity for his victims and is very apathetic towards his partners concerns. If one were writing a paper on this film, the writer would identify Gaear as Satan, due to the chaos he brings to to the plot and his dislike of order and life itself. His effect on the story is very powerful because he kills a well loved character, and even shows his lack of loyalty by feeding his partner into a wood chipper (likely the most memorable scene from the film). Gaear is directly comparable to Lorne Malvo in his cruelty, but fails to show the intelligence. Where Malvo is cold and calculating, plotting and planning, Gaear is just cold. This does not take away from his brutality, as he sees killing as a viable option any time a witness may be involved. He is not a likable character, and that really helps to make him strong.

Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton)

Oh. My. God. Billy Bob should get every award available this year for his role as Lorne Malvo. He manages to bring a whole new level of blackness to the dark comedy of Fargo. He truly is a master on screen and you can tell that he is having a fucking blast playing a totally ruthless, yet almost lovable hero. His involvement in every aspect of the show really supports the idea that his character could also be identified as Satan. He always seems to know what is going on, and the writers made sure that he seemed to have supernatural powers, yet also showing us how he did everything. Malvo’s demise is a bit hard to swallow because Thornton’s character was so enjoyable. That event, and how it happened, was one of TV’s most powerful moments. Lorne Malvo is one of the most impressive villains of television. It’s as if Cormac McCarthy himself (No Country for Old Men, The Road) came over to the studio and wrote this godlike character himself. Actually, Malvo borrows many characteristics from No Country for Old Men’s Anton Chigurgh.

WINNER: Fargo TV

To not give Billy Bob the victory here would be silly. If a college student is ever going to write about a character from the Fargo universe, they are going with Lorne Malvo. His ability to cause chaos, and unwavering dedication to his work is why he is the strongest character on television right now. Sadly, he will probably not be in the second season of Fargo (Word is, it will be an anthology show with a different cast each season). Thornton’s performance has managed to put TV one more rung closer to the top of the TV vs Film battle.

Two Not Super Evil Bad Guys

Something that is hard to compare the film to the TV show is the cast is hugely lopsided for television. There are not many bad guys to talk about on the film, in fact, there are only three, but two aren’t twisted demons hellbent on killing everyone. First up is Wade Gustafson (Harve Presnell), father-in-law of Jerry Lundergaard. He is a terribly greedy old fart who visibly shows great disdain for his son-in-law. When asking for a loan to start a business, not only does Wade deny Jerry the assistance, he undercuts Jerry to profit from it himself. I suppose Jerry had a reason to be a dick after all. The next bad guy is Gaear’s sidekick, Carl Showalter (Steve Buscemi), who really works his acting chops to carry him and his co-star through the film. Buscemi’s role is memorable and his psychopathy is convincing enough to get the idea that not only is he dumb, he is kind of dangerous. Bad decision after bad decision leads to catastrophe for the duo. The formula is pretty simple: Carl plans something, it goes wrong. Gaear solves the problem by making it worse (if that’s possible).

So Many Bad Guys of Differing Degrees!

Okay, so in the show you have the primary bad guy, Lorne Malvo. Supporting the bad guy side, however, we have Sam Hess (Kevin O’ Grady) and his family, who take joy in bullying and making Lester’s life a living Hell. Sam is also affiliated with the mob, which, upon his rather violent and bloody departure from the show introduces us to two rather interesting characters. Mr. Numbers (Adam Goldberg), the leader of a duo of hitmen, acts as a translator for Mr. Wrench (Russell Harvard), who is deaf. These two fellows are serious about their work, and they do manage to do a bit of damage. They engage in quite the gunfight with Lorne Malvo as they try to avenge Sam Hess. Their presence in the show is rather welcome, and the sarcasm of Mr. Numbers is hilarious at times. Also in the villain line up is Stavros Milos (Oliver Platt) who is the primary target for Lorne Malvo. The things that Malvo does to Milos is brutal and these little incidents establish a legendary status of the hit man.

WINNER: Fargo TV

As well as Steve Buscemi did in the film, he could not compete against such a roster of great acting and better writing. Mr. Wrench and Mr. Numbers really did add an unexpected element as they were put to task to assassinate not only Lorne Malvo, but also, to make life Hell for Lester. As a film, I understand they could not allot for a large roster of bad guys, but we could have gotten some stronger writing. Why on Earth did Carl Showalter have to be a dunce? He buried money in the snow…like a dumb ass. Interesting note, Stavros Milos found a suitcase of money that was hidden identically like the way Carl hid his money. I don’t know why they chose to do this, but they did, and it confused me slightly.

Chief Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand)

Marge is the chief of police in Fargo, and she is also pregnant. Not a little pregnant, but waddles around pregnant. She is a strong female lead portrayed by a decent actor. Though she seems clueless at times, she is no slouch. Her politeness is endearing and her Minnesotan voice/accent gives her that “nice gal” appeal. She is rather spry for a pregnant lady as well, as she manages to catch the crooks. Marge is probably the most intelligent person in this film and is also the most independent. She makes few errors and is a master of conversation. We see no growth with Marge, however. She enters the film at level 10 and leaves at level 10. She really is so laid back, that she makes the events in Fargo seem like every day events. She also has very little resistance against her investigation, unlike her television counterpart.

Deputy Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman)

Molly is the mirroring character of Marge, but it may be confusing on just how. Molly is an oaf, and she lacks a prego belly. She is a deputy, not a chief, and she is taken as a joke by all of her coworkers. Molly grows quite a bit in this show and she does eventually come to be like Marge toward the finale (baby bump included). Molly goes from department doofus, to aspiring leader after her chief is summarily executed by Lorne Malvo. That event causes her to evolve into a more involved detective. She relies a bit on Gus Grimly (Colin Hanks) to put her investigation together, even though he is absolutely incompetent at doing police work. His clueless mind buys a lot of sympathy from Molly, and eventually, he signs, seals, and delivers a conclusion so final, that in that moment, he is propelled to hero of the day. Molly is indeed a powerful character at the end, but a very weak character (all around) at the beginning. I found myself not really caring about this character until she started being more similar to Marge. This starts happening about halfway through the show.

TIE

I really can’t pick a winner here. Marge made the film for me, she was likely the most powerful character. Molly, while weak at first, evolves into Marge, but perhaps that comes too little too late to make a choice. Watching Molly’s evolution was enjoyable, but watching Marge just roll over everything as Fargo’s chief of police was definitely one of the film’s highlights.

Roger Deakins (Cinematographer)

Deakins has quite the filmography under his belt, especially a great deal of work with the Coen Brothers. For this film, he captured the sense of pure cold in Minnesota. He managed to make the weather a real character in the film. From filming a high speed chase through a snow storm to filming some fancy aerial views, every shot seemed to make the story of Fargo more compelling. There were a lot of panoramic views of events, which managed to capture the emptiness of the area. Night shots were beautifully done and perfectly lit.

Matthew J. Lloyd (Cinematographer)

Lloyd seems to be a pretty new fish in the pond of photography. His biggest work to date is this show, and looking at his credits, he has been involved in some smaller projects. If a person has ever shown what he can do with a camera, Lloyd does it in spades. This show borrows a great deal from the Coen’s other films, but manages to make the experience feel unique. Wide, expansive shots and beautifully done tracking shots establish a level of genius that the film did not even approach. There are several major scenes that will make you gasp, simply because the crew working the cameras were that damn good.

WINNER: Lloyd

Both the film and the movie are superb, but Lloyd, taking advantage of the Television format that allows for time to set up unique, dramatic shots, really surpassed the show’s predecessor. Not only did he borrow from some of the styles of the film, he managed to improve them and make them more interesting. He also dared to try some very unique shots that we do not see very much on TV. For example, pay attention to..hell, here is an example:

Well, all of this reflection has truly put me in a great mood. The show beats the film this time, and is it so surprising? The source material was already superb, with a little effort, and almost 20 years of progression in film technology and writing styles, the show was a surefire success. I highly advise that you watching this show and just chill and enjoy the ride. It’s wild. If you want to have a little more fun, watch the film first and try to find similarities between the film and the movie. I won’t spoil those surprises!