Fargo

I don't want to exaggerate, but immediately after finishing the first season of Fargo, I have a nagging feeling that I've never seen anything so brilliantly erratic, entertaining and exciting in my life (and I'm a pretty big fan of Brazzers). This series, which I consumed in one day like a beer with dinner, proved several things: a) that Billy Bob Thornton is definitely one of the best actors of his generation and, even though he plays a role that is essentially twisted, I had my fingers crossed for him more than I do for myself on a date; b) that the setting in this delightful satirical spectacle plays so chillingly convincingly that it alone deserves all the Golden Globes (and that it’s a prime example of how to work with setting in film); and c) that these days, if someone has an excellent premise, they shouldn't turn it into one feature film, but go on TV and conjure up a similar ten-hour extravaganza.... Until now, I wouldn't have thought I'd ever see Martin Freeman gradually turn into the cold-blooded killer, but it was simply brilliant and, in the sum of all formal aspects, actually believable. The first episode is pure gold. 100% (2017.12.01)

Great, as expected. In some of the motives, it’s more predictable than the first two seasons, but it grabbed me again (symbolically, I didn't have much hair left at 23) and by the middle I was so excited for the ending that I could watch it in one go naked in a shared cell in a Turkish prison. The character work is flawless (fresh characters again, though it follows the tried-and-true pattern of the previous seasons and the original film, so we get a feisty female cop, an underdog loser, a good guy, the wrong place at the wrong time, and a cold-blooded nutter), the fates of the players are mercilessly intertwined and then there’s the occasional bizarre black humour and fantastical philosophy or symbolic scenes that beautifully underline the fatefulness and subversiveness of the narrative. The direction is excellent in every episode and cleverly times the communicativeness, so that even the expected twists come unexpectedly, or at least spiced up with a non-violent comedic interlude or the aforementioned subversive absurdity (the scene in the bowling alley is a bash and tunes the viewer into exactly the position where the series wants them to be). Some of the scenes are so superbly staged and voiced that they outshine most big budget film productions (the scene where they hand over the money in the warehouse, when I didn't even want to breathe, speaks for all), and finally, of course, there are the actors. McGregor is first and foremost entertaining and manages to make the two brothers sufficiently different and interesting, Mary Elizabeth Winstead is a delightful bitch, I didn't mind Carrie Coon at all and Sea Whigham was fun every time he showed up, but the biggest superlatives go to David Thewlis, I've liked him for a long time, but here he just steals the show with a villain whom I rate as one of the best in TV history; the character himself is brilliantly written, but Thewlis's disgustingly distinctive attitude and perfect voice intonation makes him perhaps an even bigger demon than the delicious Thornton was in the first season – this is simply masterful acting that will knock you down. The last scene and its punchline is absolutely fantastic and reflects exactly why I love so much the poetics of Fargo. I want more… (2018.09.21)