The most commercially and critically successful film of Ethan and Joel Coen, Fargo was nominated for five Academy Awards and received two, an exceptional achievement for a low budget, independently produced film. This volume explores Fargo from a variety of perspectives. Providing a detailed account of the film's production, reception and place within the career of the Coen brothers, it covers issues and themes significant to current film discourse, including genre, gender and sexuality, race, history, culture and myth.