It was clear from the start of the film that Joel and Ethan Coen planned to keep this film as down to earth as they possibly could. As the film opens, the Coen’s clearly explain to their audience that they would follow the exact storyline of the events being depicted in the film and, with this, the audience understands that Hollywood theatrics will most likely be vacant from the film, leaving the audience with just the simplest of stories. Surprise! The Coen brothers, in a wonderfully dramatic twist of events, admit that what was originally believed to be entirely true is only loosely based on two completely separate events claiming: "We wanted to make a movie just in the genre of a true story movie. You don't have to have a true story to make a true story movie." This twist is comedy in itself and plays well with the overall tone of the film. While the story is one that should probably come off as dark and twisted, the Coens and their cast did an interestingly wonderful job of making the film quite funny. William H. Macy (Jerry Lundegaard) and Steve Buscemi (Carl Showalter), as usual, are able to draw in their audience with dry and unassuming humor, making light of even the most intense scenes. Other than these two actors, the cast was rather light on star power, but each actor worked spectacularly well with the two leads, bringing just as much dry comedy to the table as Macy and Buscemi. The film became more and more engaging as the story began to unfold, keeping audiences on the edge of their seats. The most interesting choice that the Coens made while creating this film was the length of each of the scenes. The film jumped quickly from scene to scene essentially forcing audiences to remain focused throughout. Slowly, each of the short scenes were pieced together to create a riveting story of fraud and murder. Ethan and Joel Coen made sure not to let a single moment go to waste, ensuring that every act and every line meant something to the whole of the story. Overall, the film was silly, deep, dark and appealing. It had all of the components of a hit and it is clear why the film has developed somewhat of a cult following over the course of the past twenty-three years. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116282/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2
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