*SPOILERS FOR THE EPISODE FOLLOW*
So I just finished watching the premiere of Fargo and its certainly not the first thing that I thought that I would be watching on a Easter Sunday evening. I will also say that I have never watched the original Coen Brothers movie but know of it and just how brilliant it is so it was a surprise to for me to see it getting a series adaption. Its certainly not the first thing I expected them to give a television adaption to and I know there was a lot of uncertainty riding on whether this would work or not. So lets just say that I'm happy to say that it works wonderfully and I was engrossed from start to finish. Martin Freeman, Billy Bob Thortan and Colin Hanks just to name a few make up a brilliant cast of actors who give some of the greatest performances of their careers and thats just in this first part. (Are call it parts because it feels more like chapters of a story rather then episodes)
But lets start with Martin he's certainly come a long way from those days in the Office with David Brent with Sherlock and The Hobbit under his belt he's becoming the hot actor of the moment. So he makes the perfect fit for the character such as Lester a man who's a push over, hated by his wife, his brother and bullied by a man from his school days that can't help but remind him he's been with his wife. (before they were together of course but still a punch in the face when reminded) Martin plays the push over role very well as he just lets himself get pushed around like a human punching bag. Lester is a loser and a coward and very much a gentleman in that he's to proud to be horrible in his job, or to his wife and the bully and his two kids that are half his age but still able to get around him. His performance is captivating, brilliant and pitiful as you feel sorry for this loser of a man and even start to want to say to him yourself "just grow some balls" All of this is done with this almost believable American accent. (You have been putting your practice in for this role haven't you Martin) He's accent is the real make or break of the performance as everyone has come to know him for the gentlemanly British voice whether its in the Office, Sherlock or the Hobbit. So to not here him speaking in his normal voice will start out as a bit of a shock and something hard to get used to but you quickly learn to love it. But its not until the second half of the episode when Lester starts to become well rightly pi**ed off with being pushed around that things start to get interesting. I will say that the premiere does start out very slow as it starts to get really into the plot and story but I had no problems with that as the performances and music especially which compensates the performances brilliantly make for a great premiere.
But like I said before its not until half way through the premiere that things start to get going and the plot starts to get dark and twisted and take a turn for the sadistic. This is help along the way by the Bad Santa himself Billy Bob Thornton who plays Lorne a man that we meet at the start of the premiere episode. As he's driving down a highway and crashes on the side of the highway just for a man stripped down to his underpants escape from the trunk of his car. This was one of the strongest scenes in the premiere as it introduced us to Lorne and that we are looking at a dark story and Lorne shouldn't be messed with. Throughout the premiere we like Lester got to know who Lorne is and where he gets his thoughts on how to deal with a man that makes a fool of you. (The short and nice answer is just kill him) His scene of the episode is Lester and Lorne's meeting in the hospital where Lorne having only spoke to him for 5 minutes tells him to grow some balls and finally be a man about things. Its also where we get to see that Lorne loves the thought of killing people and feeds on it. This is when he offers to kill Lester's little problem namely being his school bully and all he had to do was say yes. Which while he hesitated it was clear what the answer was. This whole episode was Lorne and Lester focused and as the 2 big actors in the show they also gave massive amazing performances to boot. Lester throughout the episode was like boiling water. Throughout the premiere slowly simmering and then boiling until it boiled and bubbled over as he finally flipped and had enough. All through Lorne's faithful guidance and becomes a guardian angel for him in the final part of the premiere as he helps him get through his problems.
So like I said Lester was like boiling water at the start he's simmering taking what was given to him and acting like there was nothing wrong with his life and relationship. Then it started to boil as his brother gets to much for him calling him useless which gets to much for him as he punches his brother. Slowly things start to boil and get to boiling point as heads clash and Lorne's words of wisdom become to much for him to be less words and more actions. This all comes to a head when Martin Freeman reaches his the peak of his performance in the episode as Lester changes from less pushover to more monster and psycho. This is something that Martin does brilliantly as an actor and its apparent in the second instalment of the Hobbit also if any of you have seen that. All I will say is don't go near Lester when hammer is about and if your moaning about him blowing up the washing machine. That what his wife did and we all saw what happened to her didn't we she got the literal meaning of hammer time. At first I thought it was just a dream that he was dreaming of doing it and then he would wake up to his wife still moaning at him. I realised it wasn't those as he hit her again and again on the ground and got rid of his clothes as Lester's sudden burst of confidence left him and changed to fear. Its something brilliant about Martin as an actor he's able to change his emotions so quickly from anger to fear and back to anger again as quick as a flash. This is where Lorne like I said earlier acts almost as his guardian angel as he saves Lester from the police officer that investigates the house and finds his wife in the basement. But what I wondered while watching the scene play out as Lorne suddenly disappeared from the scene of the crime like thin air. It made me wonder if maybe he's less a guardian angel and just Lester the part of Lester that he wishes that he was a confident man that doesn't take people making him for a fool. The message of the premiere I feel is that everyone is capable of being a killer and that it only takes one thing to tip a man over the edge and your mind stops working and the adrenaline and rage take over. Its all made for a brilliant premiere episode to a fantastic new series with the brothers saying they have many ideas for further series down the line if this is successful.
Colin Hanks was introduced at the end of the episode was even for the small amount of time that he was in the episode it was still a brilliant performance that he gave along side Thornton. Now I have never seen Colin in anything other then Dexter and that horrendous comedy the House Bunny if your remember that one. So I have never really been sold on him as an actor before even with all the talent that runs through his family. But he gives a brilliant performance in this premiere as he sits in his squad car talking on the radio with his daughter as she tells him that she's done most of her homework. Its great watching his try and balance his work and his family life as you start to get the impression that his daughter is the most important thing in his life. This all becomes clear when a speeding car goes past him and it just happens to be Lorne who gives a fanatic monologue. Its twisted and evil as Billy gives this look that I will kill you where you stand if you don't take the deal that I am offering you now. This scene was again fantastic and showed some brilliant acting and direction for a premiere that opened up a plot that is sure to just get better and better.
This premiere was fantastic it was dark, sometimes funny and slow which normally I wouldn't praise a show for but for this show it works and makes for a brilliant way to introduce us to the characters. Being a slower opener it showed us just how dull and boring Lester's life is and as things start to take a darker turn so does the pace as it starts to pick up. The whole pacing for the premiere was brilliant and felt very fleshed out and left things open for a brilliant new series that looks to be brilliantly successful. With a cast of brilliant actors giving some performances of their lives and their careers it made for some great film to watch on the screen. I just hope that we are going to get the same level of performances throughout the rest of the series because if we do we could be looking at one of the best series of the year and the start of a new series of programming for the brothers.
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