the first thing you notice about this movie is that it's cold . placed in minnesota and north dakota during the winter , many of the scenes take place outside with long scenes of snow-covered ground against a background of white . just what we need as bloomington struggles out of the endless long cold night . as with most coen brothers films , this features outlandish characters in nefarious schemes , each of which works out in the oddest way possible . a car salesman hires a couple of hoods to kidnap his wife so that he can collect the ransom from her father . along the way everything that can possibly go wrong does . in brief scenes of vicious violence , people get shot through the head , in the back , face , chest and various other areas of the anatomy . there is also one of the most unpleasant body disposal scenes yet seen on the screen . remarkably enough , most of the movie is played for laughs . even more remarkably , it works . the only likable person in the film is the very pregnant sheriff ( frances mcdormand ) who hunts down the killers while eating at every possible opportunity . with every good film the audience gains new knowledge . here you learn _two_ things . everyone in minnesota speaks in an annoying whining accent that would drive you crazy . and don't do violent illegal business with low-life amoral degenerate scum-sucking losers . oh yeah , if you get shot in the face , using a brightly decorated napkin to stop the bleeding just makes you look goofy .
