fargo opening

Fargo opening

In this essay im going to discuss the mis en scene and camera work in the thriller Fargo

The 1st shot which lasts over one minute 30 is of a faded blue background, which shows the credits rolling as it goes by. This shot is heavily influenced by the native music playing in the background, which slowly builds up as the credits progress. This ends with a crescendo before a car slowly creeps onto the scene, the way that the car appears slowly on screen lets you know that the setting is somewhere cold and snowy, this paired with the music allows you to gain an understanding of where the film is set. As this car passes you see that it is towing another car, this, paired with the second shot from behind the car makes you question the drivers motive, and also what has happened to the car to make it require towing. The next shot has become darker, and shows the car pulling into town. The darkness and lit street lamps show the viewer there has been a lapse in time. In The next shot, The man you assume was driving the car walks into a busy bar. You instantly know he’s out of place there, as he pauses before entering the bar, appearing slightly intimidated by the other men at the bar. This is further enforced, by the fact that he removed his driving gloves as he enters the room, This helps show the fact that he is possibly better off than the other men in the room. The shot after, shows the man approaching the table with two men at it, who have presumably been waiting for him, As he covers the frame, more beer bottles are revealed, making you assume they have been waiting a long period of time. There is then a shot reverse shot, showing the conversation between the 3 men, These shots show the man in the yellow sweater looking more confident in the environment, and shows jerry to be uncomfortable, even forcing fake smiles, there is often smoke passing his face, which makes him look more uncomfortable in this environment. The two shots are shot differently, with one being over the shoulder, which shows the two men overpowering him in the conversation, whilst the shot of jerry, shows his face, and more of his emotions. As jerry approaches the two men, The music slowly dies down, this helps show that jerry is engrossed in the conversation, and that it requires all of his attention. This scene is important for introducing the character of jerry, As it Shows you that His character must be in a large deal of trouble, in order to put himself through this.