Analyse how film techniques were used to present an idea in the film.

Greed is the “intense and selfish desire for something, especially death, power or food” This concept was portrayed in The Coen Brothers film “Fargo” which was a 1980s crime based film set in Minnesota. The theme of greed was highlighted through the main characters and is shown with the use of various cinematography techniques. These were camera shots, dialogue, and camera angles.

though the art of diegetic sound, the Coen brothers were able to revel greed through one of the main characters Jerry Lunderguard. Jerry Lunderguard was introduced very early on in the film as having quite a greedy personality. At the beginning of the film, We find that Jerry’s greed overrules everything else like his love for his wife and child. “see I give you a brand new vehicle, in advance” In Jerrys desperate need to pay off his debt, he is willing to organise his wife to be kidnapped by Carl and Gaear. Knowing the financial situation of his father in law, Jerry would be able to pay off his debt with the ransom money funded by Wade. Having this as the opening sense, gave us the conclusion that Jerry is unsatisfied with what he already had and was willing to risk everything for a bit of extra cash. Jerry like many people in the real world has this desire for money. Something in the back of their minds, telling them they want more. When people are in a desperate time of need, they find themselves doing just about anything to get what they want even if it comes to killing innocent people in the process. I found that Fargo is a perfect example of what actually happens in our world today. Through the use of Diegetic sound, the Coen brothers were able to portray how Jerry is just like a lot of people you come across all over the world, desperate and greedy for a little bit of money.

the Coen Brothers also used different camera angles to portray the theme of greed through the film. Camera angles are a very important technique in any movie as it can create a certain perception of a character, through the eyes of the audience. In the film, the directors utilised the theme of greed through a high angle camera angle which grasps the attention of the viewers. A high angle shot are shots, looking down on the subject, making them look smaller, less powerful and even vulnerable. A necessary scene where the coen brothers used a high angle shot is When Carl is burying   the rest of the money in the snow. Carl was greedy and wanted more as shown by a low angle. This shows that the directors wanted Carl to be seen as though he could easily be controlled by the power of his greed. Having a greedy personality in my opinion is a very bad traits to have. It can manipulate you to do certain things and can put you in serious and dangerous situations. This is another way that fargo was able to utilise greed through Carl’s actions.

A close up shot can be a very important shot in any movie as it can reveal people’s emotions and shows expression. The directors used a close up camera shot to present the theme of greed through our last character Gaear. Gaear was always seen as the underdog of the two as he seemed to always follow Carl’s instructions. How the Coen Brothers used this shot to Analyze greed was in one of the very last scenes of the film. Gaear had just been arrested for both murders and was sitting in the back of the police  car. By using a close up we were able to concentrate on his facial expressions without hearing diegetic sounds. In this scene we see how greed took over everything else when Gaear realised he wanted more than what he was already getting. We can see by his face that he felt defeated and worthless, realising that it was all for nothing and he would be spending the next few decades behind bars. The Coen Brothers wanted to show us as the audience a scene that is more realistic than you think. With everything you do, you have to be aware of all the consequences that could follow with your actions. In this case, when Carl agreed to kidnapping Jerry’s wife, He was only thinking about what he was going to gain not what he could potentially lose. Which was everything. 

If wealth and power or other necessities were shared upon us equally then there wouldn’t be such a thing as greed. Through the use of Diegetic sound, camera shots and camera angles, the Coen brothers analyzed how greed served as a motivating force that lead to the decisions the characters made. They were able to portray how addictive greed can be, almost as if it were a drug.