Fargo

 

 

 

Screenplay by                             William Richert

                                                 Joel Cohen

                                                 Ethan Cohen

 

Produced by                               Ethan Cohen

 

Directed by                                Joel Cohen

 

 

 

Cast List:

 

Frances McDormand               Marge Gunderson

William H. Macy                      Jerry Lundegaard

Steve Buscemi                         Carl Showalter

Peter Stormare                        Gaear Grimsrud

Harve Presnell                         Jerry's Father-In-Law

Kristin Rudrud                         Jean Lundegaard

John Carroll Lynch                  Norm Gunderson

 

 

 

 

The following text fades in over black:

 

"This is a true story. The events depicted in this film took place in Minnesota in 1987. At the request of the survivors, the names have been changed. Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly as it occurred. "

 

FLARE TO WHITE

 

 

FADE IN FROM WHITE:

 

 

Slowly the white becomes a barely perceptible image: white particles wave over a white background. A snowfall.

 

A car bursts through the curtain of snow.

 

The car is equipped with a hitch and is towing another car, a brand-new light brown Cutlass Ciera with the pink sales sticker showing in its rear window.

 

As the car roars past, leaving snow swirling in their dirft, the title of the film fades in.

 

"FARGO"

 

Green highway signs point the way to "MOOREHEAD, MINNESOTA/FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA". The roads for the two cities diverge. A sign says "WELCOME TO NORTH DAKOTA" and another just after says "NOW ENTERING FARGO, ND, POP. 44,412".

 

The car pulls into a Rodeway Inn.

 

 

HOTEL LOBBY

 

A man in his early forties, balding and starting to paunch, goes to the reception desk. The clerk is an older woman.

 

CLERK

And how are you today, sir?

 

MAN

Real good now. I'm checking in – Mr. Anderson.

 

The man prints "Jerry Lundega" onto a registration card, then hastily crosses out the last name and starts to print "Anderson."

 

As she types into a computer:

 

CLERK

Okay, Mr. Anderson, and you're still planning on staying with us just the night, then?

 

ANDERSON

You bet.

 

 

HOTEL ROOM

 

The man turns on the TV, which shows the local evening news.

 

NEWS ANCHOR

... whether they will go to summer camp at all. Katie Jensen has more.

 

KATIE

It was supposed to be a project funded by the city council; it was supposed to benefit those Fargo-Moorehead children who would otherwise not be able to afford to attend a lakeshore summer camp. But nobody consulted city controller Stu Jacobson...

 

 

CHAIN RESTAURANT

 

Anderson sits alone at a table finishing dinner. Muzak plays. A middle-aged waitress approaches holding a pot of regular coffee in one hand and decaf in the other.

 

WAITRESS

Can I warm that up for ya there?

 

ANDERSON

You bet.

 

The man looks at his watch.

 

 

THROUGH A WINDSHIELD

 

We are pulling into the snow-swept parking lot of a one-story brick building. Broken neon at the top of the building identifies it as the Jolly Troll Tavern. A troll, also in neon, holds a champagne glass aloft.

 

 

INSIDE

 

The bar is downscale even for this town. Country music plays on the jukebox.

 

Two men are seated in a booth at the back. One is short, slight, youngish. The other man is somewhat older, and dour. The table in front of them is littered with empty long-neck beer bottles. The ashtray is full.

 

Anderson approaches.

 

ANDERSON

I'm, uh, Jerry Lundegaard –

 

YOUNGER MAN

You're Jerry Lundegaard?

 

JERRY

Yah, Shep Proudfoot said –

 

YOUNGER MAN

Shep said you'd be here at 7:30. What gives, man?

 

JERRY

Shep said 8:30.

 

YOUNGER MAN

We been sitting here an hour. I've peed three times already.

 

JERRY

I'm sure sorry. I – Shep told me 8:30. It was a mix-up, I guess.

 

YOUNGER MAN

Ya got the car?

 

JERRY

Yah, you bet. It's in the lot there. Brand-new burnt umber Ciera.

 

YOUNGER MAN

Yeah, okay. Well, siddown then. I'm Carl Showalter and this is my associate Gaear Grimsrud.

 

JERRY

Yah, how ya doin'. So, uh, we all set on this thing, then?

 

YOUNGER MAN

Sure, Jerry, we're all set. Why wouldn't we be?

 

JERRY

Yah, no, I'm sure you are. Shep vouched for you and all. I got every confidence in you fellas.

 

They stare at him. An awkward beat.

 

JERRY

... So I guess that's it, then. Here's the keys –

 

CARL

No, that's not it, Jerry.

 

JERRY

Huh?

 

CARL

The new vehicle, plus forty thousand dollars.

 

JERRY

Yah, but the deal was, the car first, see, then the forty thousand, like as if it was the ransom. I thought Shep told you –

 

CARL

Shep didn't tell us much, Jerry.

 

JERRY

Well, okay, it's –

 

CARL

Except that you were gonna be here at 7:30.

 

JERRY

Yah, well, that was a mix-up, then.

 

CARL

Yeah, you already said that.

 

JERRY

Yah. But it's not a whole pay-in-advance deal. I give you a brand-new vehicle in advance and –

 

CARL

I'm not gonna debate you, Jerry.

 

JERRY

Okay.

 

CARL

I'm not gonna sit here and debate. I will say this though: what Shep told us didn't make a whole lot of sense.

 

JERRY

Oh, no, it's real sound. It's all worked out.

 

CARL

You want your own wife kidnapped?

 

JERRY

Yah.

 

Carl Stares. Jerry looks blankly back.

 

CARL

... You – my point is, you pay the ransom – what eighty thousand bucks? – I mean, you give us half the ransom, forty thousand, you keep half. It's like robbing Peter to play Paul, it doesn't make any –

 

JERRY

Okay, it's – see, it's not me payin' the ransom. The thing is, my wife, she's wealthy – her dad, he's real well off. Now, I'm in a bit of trouble –

 

CARL

What kind of trouble are you in, Jerry?

 

JERRY

Well, that's, that's, I'm not go inta, inta – see, I just need money. Now, her dad's real wealthy –

 

CARL

So why don't you just ask him for the money?

 

Grimsrud, the dour man who has not yet spoken, now softly puts in with a Swedish-accented voice:

 

GRIMSRUD

Or your fucking wife, you know.

 

CARL

Or your fucking wife, Jerry.

 

JERRY

Well, it's all just part of this – they don't know I need it, see. Okay, so there's that. And even if they did, I wouldn't get it. So there's that on top, then. See, these're personal matters.

 

CARL

Personal matters.

 

JERRY

Yah. Personal matters that needn't, uh –

 

CARL

Okay, Jerry. You're tasking us to perform this mission, but you, you won't, uh, you won't – aw, fuck it, let's take a look at that Ciera.

 

 

MINNEAPOLIS SUBURBAN HOUSE

 

Jerry enters through the kitchen door, in a parka and a red plaid Elmer Fudd hat. He stamps snow off his feet. He is carrying a bag of groceries which he deposits on the kitchen counter.

 

JERRY

Hon? Got the growshries.

 

VOICE

Thank you, hon. How's Fargo?

 

JERRY

Yah, real good.

 

VOICE

Dad's here.

 

 

DEN

 

Jerry enters, pulling off his plaid cap.

 

JERRY

How ya doin', Wade?

 

Wade Gustafson is mid-sixtyish, vigorous, with a full head of gray hair. His eyes remain fixed on the TV.

 

WADE

Yah, pretty good.

 

JERRY

Whatcha watchin' there?

 

WADE

Norstars.

 

JERRY

... Who they playin'?

 

WADE

OOOoooh!

 

His reaction synchronizes with a reaction from the crowd.

 

 

KITCHEN

 

Jerry walks back in, taking off his coat. His wife is putting on an apron. Jerry nods toward the living room.

 

JERRY

Is he stayin' for supper, then?

 

WIFE

Yah, I think so... Dad, are you stayin' for supper?

 

WADE

(off)

Yah.

 

 

DINING ROOM

 

Jerry, his wife, Wade and Scotty, twelve years old, sit eating.

 

SCOTTY

May I be excused?

 

JERRY

Sure, ya done there?

 

SCOTTY

Uh-huh. Goin' out.

 

WIFE

Where are you going?

 

SCOTTY

Just out. Just McDonald's.

 

JERRY

Back at 9:30.

 

SCOTTY

Okay.

 

WADE

He just ate. And he didn't finish. He's going to McDonald's instead of finishing here?

 

WIFE

He sees his friends there. It's okay.

 

WADE

It's okay? McDonald's? What do you think they do there? They don't drink milkshakes, I assure you!

 

WIFE

It's okay, Dad.

 

JERRY

Wade, have ya had a chance to think about, uh, that deal I was talkin' about, those forty acres there on Wayzata?

 

WADE

You told me about it.

 

JERRY

Yah, you said you'd have a think about it. I understand it's a lot of money –

 

WADE

A heck of a lot. What'd you say you were gonna put there?

 

JERRY

A lot. It's a limited –

 

WADE

I know it's a lot.

 

JERRY

I mean a parking lot.

 

WADE

Yah, well, seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars is a lot – ha ha ha!

 

JERRY

Yah, well, it's a chunk, but –

 

WADE

I thought you were gonna show it to Stan Grossman. He passes on this stuff before it gets kicked up to me.

 

JERRY

Well, you know Stan'll say no dice. That's why you pay him. I'm asking you here, Wade. This could work out real good for me and Jean and Scotty –

 

WADE

Jean and Scotty never have to worry.

 

 

WHITE

 

A black like curls through the white. Twisting perspective shows that it is an aerial shot of a two-lane highway, bordered by snowfields. The highway carries one moving car.

 

 

INT. CAR

 

Carl Showalter is driving. Gaear Grimsrud stares blankly out.

 

After a long beat:

 

GRIMSRUD

Where is Pancakes Hause?

 

CARL

What?

 

GRIMSRUD

We stop at Pancakes Hause.

 

CARL

What're you, nuts? We had pancakes for breakfast. I gotta go somewhere I can get a shot and a beer – and a steak maybe. Not more fuckin' pancakes. Come on.

 

Grimsrud gives him a sour look.

 

CARL

... Come on, man. Okay, here's an idea. We'll stop outside of Brainerd. I know a place there we can get laid. Wuddya think?

 

GRIMSRUD

I'm fuckin' hungry now, you know.

 

CARL

Yeah, yeah, Jesus – I'm sayin', we'll stop for pancakes, then we'll get laid. Wuddya think?

 

 

GUSTAFSON OLDS GARAGE

 

Jerry is sitting in his glassed-in salesman's cubicle just off the showroom floor. On the other side of his desk sit an irate customer and his wife.

 

CUSTOMER

We sat here right in this room and went over this and over this!

 

JERRY

Yah, but that TruCoat –

 

CUSTOMER

I sat right here and said I didn't want no TruCoat!

 

JERRY

Yah, but I'm sayin', that TruCoat, you don't get it and you get oxidization problems. It'll cost you a heck of lot more'n five hunnert –

 

CUSTOMER

You're sittin' here, you're talkin' in circles! You're talkin' like we didn't go over this already!

 

JERRY

Yah, but this TruCoat –

 

CUSTOMER

We had us a deal here for nine-teen-five. You sat there and darned if you didn't tell me you'd get this car, these options, WITHOUT THE SEALANT, for nine-teen-five!

 

JERRY

Okay, I'm not sayin' I didn't –

 

CUSTOMER

You called me twenty minutes ago and said you had it! Ready to make delivery, ya says! Come on down and get it! And here ya are and you're wastin' my time and you're wastin' my wife's time and I'm payin' nineteen-five for this vehicle here!

 

JERRY

Well, okay, I'll talk to my boss...

 

He rises, and, as he leaves:

 

JERRY

... See, they install that TruCoat at the factory, there's nothin' we can do, but I'll talk to my boss.

 

The couple watch him go to a nearby cubicle.

 

CUSTOMER

These guys here – these guys! It's always the same! It's always more! He's a liar!

 

WIFE

Please, dear.

 

CUSTOMER

We went over this and over this –

 

 

NEARBY CUBICLE

 

Jerry sits perched on the desk of another salesman who is eating lunch as he watches a hockey game on a small portable TV.

 

JERRY

So you're goin' to the Gophers on Sunday?

 

SALESMAN

You bet.

 

JERRY

You wouldn't have an extra ticket there?

 

SALESMAN

They're playin' the Buckeyes!

 

JERRY

Yah.

 

SALESMAN

Ya kiddin'!

 

 

JERRY'S CUBICLE

 

Jerry re-enters.

 

JERRY

Well, he never done this before, but seein' as it's special circumstances and all, he says I can knock one hunnert off that TruCoat.

 

CUSTOMER

One hundred! You lied to me, Mr. Lundegaard. You're a bald-faced liar!

 

Jerry sits staring at his lap.

 

CUSTOMER

... A fucking liar –

 

WIFE

Bucky, please!

 

Jerry mumbles into his lap:

 

JERRY

One hunnert's the best we can do here.

 

CUSTOMER

Oh, for Christ's sake, where's my goddamn checkbook. Let's get this over with.

 

 

WIDE EXTERIOR: TRUCK STOP

 

There is a restaurant with many big rigs parked nearby, and a motel with an outsize Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox flanking its sign: "BLUE OX MOTEL"

 

 

MOTEL ROOM

 

Carl Showalter and Gaear Grimsrud are in the twin beds having sex with two truck-stop hookers.

 

CARL

Oh, Jesus, yeah.

 

HIS HOOKER

There ya go, sugar.

 

GRIMSRUD

Nnph.

 

HIS HOOKER

Yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah.

 

 

LATER

 

The couples like in their respective beds, gazing at the offscreen TV.

 

ED MCMAHON

– Johnny's guests tonight will be Lee Majors, George Wendt, and Steve Boutsikaros from the San Diego Zoo, so keep that dial –

 

 

LUNDEGAARD KITCHEN

 

We hear a morning show on television. Jean Lundegaard is making coffee in the kitchen as Scott eats cereal at the table.

 

JEAN

I'm talkin' about your potential.

 

SCOTT

(absently)

Uh-huh.

 

JEAN

You're not a C student.

 

SCOTT

Uhn.

 

JEAN

And yet you're gettin' C grades. It's this disparity there that concerns your dad and me.

 

SCOTT

Uh-huh.

 

JEAN

You know what a disparity is?

 

SCOTT

(testily)

Yeah!

 

JEAN

Okay. Well, that's why we don't want ya goin' out fer hockey.

 

SCOTT

Oh, man!

 

The phone rings.

 

SCOTT

... What's the big deal? It's an hour –

 

JEAN

Hold on.

 

She picks up the phone.

 

JEAN

... Hello?

 

PHONE VOICE

Yah, hiya, hon.

 

JEAN

Oh, hiya, Dad.

 

WADE

Jerry around?

 

JEAN

Yah, he's still here – I'll catch him for ya.

 

She holds the phone away and calls:

 

JEAN

... Hon?

 

VOICE

Yah.

 

JEAN

It's Dad.

 

VOICE

Yah...

 

Jerry enters in shirtsleeves and tie.

 

JERRY

... Yah, okay...

 

SCOTT

Look, Dad, there is no fucking way –

 

JEAN

Scott!

 

JERRY