Frances McDormand reveals the feminist power behind her ‘Fargo’ character
While Frances McDormand has given countless iconic performances on the big screen, it’s hard to look beyond her effort in the 1996 Coen brothers movie Fargo as being her most iconic moment. By bringing the pregnant Minnesota cop to life with a distinctive combination of wit and charm, McDormand delivered one of her most memorable performances.
Against the cold and icy setting of the titular town, Marge’s warmth provides a refreshing and welcome antidote. Her courage and bravery in the face of criminal enterprise serve as one of the most touching facets of a truly excellent film, and it’s all a testament to McDormand’s ability to truly embody her characters.
Unsurprisingly, McDormand won the Academy Award for ‘Best Actress’ for her effort in Fargo, which further cemented her position as one of the greatest actors of her generation. The character of Marge rings true throughout 1990s cinema and remains a bastion of late 20th-century feminism on screen.
McDormand was once interviewed by Willem Dafoe for Bomb Magazine, and eventually, the conversation turned to the nature of her character in Fargo. Dafoe noted how it’s a necessity in drama and acting for an actor to “beat yourself up a little bit” before asking whether it was refreshing for McDormand to play a Minnesota cop “who plugs along without too much trouble”.
She admitted that she enjoyed playing Marge from a “feminist perspective”. The acclaimed actor noted: “I don’t think all the characters I’ve played have been victims, but there’s been a certain requirement of vulnerability to tell the story of whatever lead character I’m supporting. And usually, the character I’m supporting is a man.”
McDormand continued: “But in Fargo, the only story I was telling was Marge’s. The audience feels really connected to her and emotionally involved with her, but she never has to bring them into that by showing her own emotional vulnerability. That was really exciting.”
Marge is also symbolically free from her relationship with a man. Even though she’s indeed married and pregnant, her character is defined by her approach to her life and career and her stoic attitude in the face of adversity, typical of that ‘Minnesota nice’ mood that runs throughout the Coen brothers’ movie.
“The men in her life are defined by her,” McDormand concluded on the matter. “And in a very kind of, seemingly conventional marriage, they’re both doing exactly what they want to do and taking care of what needs to be done. There’s an equality there.”
