There's more to life than a little money, you know? Don't you know that?

Frances McDormand as Marge Gunderson in Fargo (1996) dir. Joel Coen

there’s more to life than a little money, ya know. and here you are, and it’s a beautiful day.

Fargo (1996) // Dir. The Coen Brothers

There’s one little moment that I just love in Fargo (1996).

Throughout the entire movie, Norm never discusses Marge’s work with her. He gets up to make her eggs before she leaves, and he brings her lunch at the station. But when she’s talking to the other officers about the case, he just sits there quietly. That’s her deal. He’s not going to butt in.

It’s the same when they’re at the buffet restaurant and the officer comes in with the phone records. Norm just sits there eating his food while they talk. But then Marge mentions that she’s going to drive down to the Twin Cities.

And it’s a delayed reaction, but suddenly Norm looks up from his plate and says, “Oh, yeah?”

Because he realizes she’s going to be leaving town, and they’ll be apart. Of course there’s no argument about it, and Marge goes like she says she will. But I just love that that’s the moment he finally chimes in during a work discussion. 

Aw, Norm.

My Art: Marge Gunderson [WIP] 

Pastel Pencils on Cardboard 

True Christmas spirit

Marge: Hiya, hon.

Norm: I brought you some lunch, Margie. What are those? Nightcrawlers?

Marge: Yeah.

Norm: Oh, thanks, hon.

Marge: You bet. Thanks for lunch.Yeah. Looks pretty good. What do we got here, Arby's? How's the painting going?

Norm: Pretty good.Found out the Hautmans are entering a painting this year.

Marge: Hon, you're better than them.

Norm: They're really good.

Marge: They're good, Norm, but you're better than them.

Norm: Ya think so?

Marge: Ya got Arby's all over me.

“Police!”

Fargo (1996)

jerry and marge as birds thank you :}

Day 15

August 15

And for what? For a little bit of money? There's more to life than a little money, you know. Don'tcha know that? And here ya are, and it's a beautiful day. Well. I just don't understand it.

-Marge Gunderson

(Played by Frances McDormand)

-Fargo

Marge Gunderson & Rubber Futa Drone

Heh. Try living in Minnesota long enough to pick up the accent only for the movie Fargo to come out!

Fargo: Author! Author!

I've thought for a long time that what we're watching in season 5 is a story in the process of being written. My initial guess was that the author would turn out to be Scotty Lundegaard, who would be writing it as a way of providing some poetic justice for his mother, Jean, who was killed by Gaear Grimsrud in "Fargo" the movie. But I have come to the shocking conclusion that the author of this story is Gaear himself, and Ole Munch represents the author. Gaear has also reimagined his victim as a worthy adversary, and maybe an alternate version of himself. Let's go back to the first episode of the season, because whenever a mystery is resolved, it turns out that the big clue was given to us right at the beginning, but we didn't have the context to understand it. LORRAINE (to Dot): Or here's a thought. Write your own pulp fiction now that you're an outlaw. Lorraine actually refers to Dot twice as an outlaw. This was concerning to me, because I thought Dot's comment about the author Lee Child pointed to Scotty Lundegaard as the author. Lee Child's pen name was derived from a mispronunciation that resulted in his daughter jokingly being called "le child." But Gaear Grimsrud is a legitimate outlaw, and the term "pulp fiction" is ironic, because wood chips are used to make the wood pulp on which those lurid stories were originally printed. And Gaear Grimsrud knows about wood chippers. He also would know about every detail of Jean's kidnapping, and even the most obscure bits of information, such as Marge Gunderson saying to him, "It's a beautiful day." That phrase has been used twice now, once by Indira in the prowler after arresting Dot, and once by Lindo at Camp Utopia. Roy notes of Munch, "You don't talk much. I like that." Gaear says only 80 words in "Fargo" the movie. Perhaps most significant of all is Gaear's fondness for pancakes. Both Munch and Dot have been connected to pancakes. One of these characters is associated with sin, and the other with Dorothy Gale from "The Wizard of Oz." Interestingly, the town of Liberal, Kansas, the setting of season 4's "East/West," is also associated with both of those things. It is the official home of Dorothy Gale, and the site of a famous Pancake Day race on Shrove Tuesday, a day to prepare for Lent, confess one's sins, and receive absolution. Maybe that's what Gaear is trying to do here. In episode 5, "The Tiger," I was struck by a couple of things that might be clues. Indira talks about Lars blaming his gear for his poor performance. "The nine iron, the eight iron, the seven iron....Keeps thinking it's the gear. 'Maybe with better gear.'" The consecutive numbers 987 made me think of 1987, the year that the movie takes place. And the word "gear" sounds like "Gaear." As though, if Gaear were better, things wouldn't have gone so badly. At the end of that episode, Dot drives off in the Kia with dealer plates, another reference to the film. Then there's episode 7, "Linda," which I want to make a separate post about. Not only does Munch re-create Gaear's murder of Carl, but there are a bunch of references to the movie in that episode, as well as things that point us to the fact that this is very much "a long-ago story, come back to haunt" someone. I think the person being haunted is Gaear, and it's Jean Lundegaard's ghost who's haunting him. Gaear may think of his life in the same way as Munch does, rooted in sin, with no escape. The parallels between Munch and Dot increase with every episode. Since Dot serves as a stand-in for Jean, it's as though the perpetrator has come to identify with his victim, and is trying in some way to give her justice. I should also point out that Peter Stormare, who plays Gaear, also played a nihilist in "The Big Lebowski," and Munch literally says, "I'm a nihilist."

Marge:Oh for pete's sake, he's fleeing the interview! He's fleeing the interview!