The film ”Fargo” is a 1996 film directed by the Coen brothers (Joel and Ethan). The film is based in a wintery Minnesota. The theme of ‘Greed’ is shown throughout the film by various characters. In the film, greed is shown by the Coen brother through the use of film techniques such as Low Camera angles, Dialogue and mid shot 1 shot. This essay will explain how the chosen film techniques show greed throughout the film.

A shot that shows greed to the audience watching is the low camera angle, the Coen brothers have used this shot to show the greedy and more dominant characters, the low angle shot makes the subject seem more important as the camera is looking upwards to the person/object. Greed is evident throughout the film Fargo, it is mainly the male characters showing greed such as Jerry, Gaear and Carl. All these characters are hungry for money and very eager to get it. Gaear Grimstad is mostly shown in a low camera angle, this is to show his dominance throughout the film. Not only is Gaear greedy so is Carl, when Carl comes back from getting the money he is shown in a low angle shot when talking to Gaear, but this also shows his greediness as they start talking about how much money they are going to split between the two of them and also split the car. CARL: “How the fuck do you split a car, ya dummy? With a fuckin’ chainsaw?GAEAR: One of us pays the other for half”. This argument escalates very quickly which leads to Gaear killing Carl, greed is shown here because Carl just stole 1 million dollars and a car should not have been a big issue. Greed totally overrides the whole situation here and it is shown how greedy Gaear is. Greed is wanting something you do not necssaceirley need. Greed is a physiological thing someone has which makes them feel more superior than others. Gaear likes the ideology of greed cause it makes him feel dominant over others.

Dialogue is another film technique used to show personality and the way certain characters feel about greed. Dialogue helps the audience understand the story of the characters. In the film, Fargo most characters have a thick accent. This accent is unique to them and the way they explain things. The Minnesota accent that Marge displays show niceness, joy and cheerfulness in her life even while being pregnant. This is the same with most characters from Minnesota in the film. Throughout the story, Carl develops signs of greed as he makes some big calls and is constantly focused on money. He and Jerry are obsessed with money and they base most of their decisions around money which not all partners in crime do. As the story progresses Carl gets very aggressive and starts using swear words to express the way hes feeling. Carl is on edge and worried about ‘Money’, as this temptation fo money grows carl starts to freak out as he gets closer to getting the money from Jerry. As this becomes a reality Carl returns to the cabin by the lake where he starts saying stuff he will regret. Carl and gear get into an argument over how much money they get and who gets what car. Carl says “Hold on! No fuckin way! Do you fuckin’ notice this? I got fuckin’ shot! Shot in the fuckin’ face went and got the fuckin’ money. I got shot fuckin’ picking it up! I’ve been up for 36 fuckin’ hours! I’m taking that fuckin’ car! That fucker’s mine, you fuckin’ asshole! the amount of swearing that has been used shows that carl is very aggressive and his want for money has overtaken his friendship between him and Gaear. Gaear ends up killing Carl has he gets very greedy and valued the money over their friendship. Once marge catches Gaear she expresses her feelings over what has just happened she says “So that was Mrs Lundegaard on the floor in there. And I guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper. And those three people in Brainerd. And for what? For a little bit of MONEY. There’s more to life than a little money, you know. Don’t you know that? And here ya are, and it’s a beautiful day. Well, I just don’t understand it”.

The last film technique used throughout the film Fargo is the mid shot one shot, this film technique is used to depict body language and show more of the setting. Jerry Lundergaurd is constantly shown throughout the story in a mid shot one shot, this always gives the audience the impression that he is very lonely. Never is he shown in a mid shot with his family. His desire and greed for money have grown him and it seems like he values the money over his family, because who would ever put their wife in a dangerous situation like that? All he wants is the money and it seems like he has just pushed aside his family in order to get this sum of money. An example of Jerry being in a mid shot one shot is when he is in his prison cell-like office on the phone this guy about some cars he had brought once he puts the phone down he picks up his papers and slams them down aggressively, this shot really shows that Jerry is being pushed to the limit and is on the breaking point as he is stressed out about his work as well as his deal with Carl and Gaear . He is so stressed out about money and greed has pushed him to the point to commit crimes he never thought of doing and pretty much abandoned his family. To most people family is a very important value and nobody would ever do this to their wife or kid.

Greed is something that everybody has, some might show it more than others. Greed is expressed in different ways but in this film, it is shown through the desire and want for money. Throughout the film, Fargo greed is shown constantly by various characters through the use of the film techniques such as the mid shot one shot, which shows Jerry always alone and by himself dialogue, talking about how Carl gets aggravated as he gets closer to getting the money and the low key lighting showing the dominance of the characters and the way they speak about money. These three key film techniques really show the greed that the character has.