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08/03/1996 Crime, Drama, Thriller 1h 38m
78
User score

A lot can happen in the middle of nowhere.

Overview

Jerry, a small-town Minnesota car salesman is bursting at the seams with debt... but he's got a plan. He's going to hire two thugs to kidnap his wife in a scheme to collect a hefty ransom from his wealthy father-in-law. It's going to be a snap and nobody's going to get hurt... until people start dying. Enter Police Chief Marge, a coffee-drinking, parka-wearing - and extremely pregnant - investigator who'll stop at nothing to get her man. And if you think her small-time investigative skills will give the crooks a run for their ransom... you betcha!

  1. Joel Coen

    Director, Writer

  2. Ethan Coen

    Writer, Director

Top billed cast

  1. Frances McDormand

    Marge Gunderson

  2. William H. Macy

    Jerry Lundegaard

  3. Steve Buscemi

    Carl Showalter

  4. Peter Stormare

    Gaear Grimsrud

  5. Harve Presnell

    Wade Gustafson

  6. John Carroll Lynch

    Norm Gunderson

  7. Kristin Rudrüd

    Jean Lundegaard

  8. Bruce Bohne

    Lou

  9. Steve Reevis

    Shep Proudfoot

  10. View more

Full Cast & Crew

Reviews

A review by CinemaSerf
Written by CinemaSerf on 2023-08-27
Saw this again recently for it's anniversary, or 4k conversion, - who cares what the reason was, it was just great to see it up on the bg screen again. In my view, it's easily the best of efforts from both the Coen brothers and from the formidable Frances McDormand. Here, she is a pregnant local cop who must deal with a sudden spate of crimes in her magnificently named town "Brainerd". William H. Macy ("Jerry") and the usually under-rated Steve Buscemi ("Carl") add loads to value to this drama that offers an almost perfect mix of sharp and wittily written dialogue, some clever and poignant per...read the rest
Read All Reviews

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Status
Released

Original Language
English

Budget
$7,000,000.00

Revenue
$60,611,975.00

Keywords