Synopsis

A financially desperate car salesman hires two small-time criminals to kidnap his wife, planning to collect ransom money from her wealthy father. The scheme quickly collapses into violence, drawing the attention of pregnant Minnesota police chief Marge Gunderson. As Marge follows the trail through a string of increasingly senseless crimes, the area's quiet, polite surface gives way to greed, panic, and murder.

Factoids & Trivia

• The opening claim that the story is based on actual events is fictional. The Coen brothers used the "true story" presentation as part of the film's storytelling approach.

• Despite its title, none of the film was shot in Fargo, North Dakota. Most locations were in Minnesota, with additional winter exteriors filmed in northern Minnesota and northeastern North Dakota.

• The production faced an unusually mild winter and had to use artificial snow for some scenes. The lack of natural snowfall became one of the film's major production challenges.

• The role of Carl Showalter was written specifically for Steve Buscemi.

• The performers used the book How to Talk Minnesotan while preparing the film's distinctive regional accents.

• Frances McDormand and John Carroll Lynch developed an off-screen history for Marge and Norm Gunderson. They imagined that the couple had met while working as police officers and that Norm had left the force because Marge was the better officer.

• The snowplow passing the motel near the end of the film was not planned. A state employee drove through the area despite signs warning motorists that filming was underway.

• The film won Academy Awards for Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay. It was added to the National Film Registry in 2006.