Fargo: Is The Coen Brothers' Movie Based on a True Story? (2024)

Upon using the phrase “based on a true story,” an audience turns over their entire attention and invests wholly into what events may play out on the screen before them. There is a sense of reality that is grounded when it is disclosed that the inspiration comes from the real world around us. It serves as an anchoring point that binds fiction to reality and creates a point of overlap between filmmaker and filmgoer. As important as fictional worlds and imagined stories are to pop culture and entertainment, entertainment is a multimedia art that bears its diverse audience in mind. Those who have a hunger for non-fiction narratives in the mainstream media are not an afterthought — for the most part.

The Coen Brothers established themselves as filmmakers on the rise after their crime thriller Fargo shocked and surprised audiences in 1996. The premise of the film follows the demise of Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy) after his crime-ridden car dealership begins to fall apart at the hands of his henchmen. After his plan to recoup his losses fails, Lundegaard is faced with increasingly more intense troubles that continue to spiral out of control. The Coen Brothers claimed that the film “is based on a true story,” though their claim comes with a unique twist on the traditional hook, line, and sinker.

Related: These Movies Reinvented Murder Mysteries for Modern Audiences

Why Does Fargo Claim to Be Based on a True Story?

The film makes the confident claim that it is based on fact, though it's not much of an honest or truthful claim made. Fargo opens with a slightly-playful title card that skews the true-to-fact perspective that the Coen Brothers wanted to take when angling their crime thriller around the mere concept of true crime. The two branded their work with more tongue-in-cheek humor that surfaces throughout their cinematic history. The initial inspiration for Fargo was indeed based on a true story, though the interior details of the film are more fabricated for the sake of fictionalization. The Coen Brothers could have made this claim to tie into their personal brand upon their cinematic debut, or could have used it as a marketing tactic to create a buzz around their first mass-distributed film. It can be assumed that the "based on a true story" element of Fargo, while only choosing to utilize the bare bones of inspiration, is the Coen Brothers' way of poking fun at a more serious genre.

What is Fargo Based On?

Looking past the deceptive nature of Fargo's title card that can spark debates over how legitimate the made claims are, the Coen Brothers were keen on honoring source material that inspired Fargo. It may not follow the series of events as they naturally occurred, but the crimes that take place throughout the film are nonetheless taken from cases that actually unfolded. It was indeed the murder of Helle Crafts that was cited as the crime behind the making of Fargo. After she was wedded to her husband, the couple relocated to Newtown, Connecticut, and settled into their family life. Craft stumbled upon the realization that her husband Richard had been involved in several affairs with other women throughout their marriage. Craft became suspicious of her partner, and there was an anxiety that she was going to be murdered. She was last seen on her journey home from work and had previously confided in a friend that “if something happens to me, don’t think it was an accident.” Following Helle's disappearance, Richard was the first to be questioned about her sudden vanishing. He prepared excuses to defend his innocence and made claims that his partner was abroad visiting family or out of the country with friends. Craft was officially declared as a missing person on December 1, 1986.

Related: Best Frances McDormand Movies, Ranked

Richard became a prime suspect after a full investigation was launched. A maid previously recalled that there were blood stains discovered shortly after Helle was formally declared a missing person. The husband's bank account revealed that he had made three disturbing and alarming purchases: a wood chipper, a chainsaw, and a freezer. In Fargo, the wood chipper scene is a staple that has allowed the film to earn its fame. A confession from a snow plow driver who was local to the area confirmed that like in the film, Helle's remains were forced through the wood chipper. DNA samples that were left on the wood chipper traced back to Helle, marking Richard guilty. It is assumed that he murdered her in their bedroom before freezing her body before she was disposed of. Connecticut State Police were able to prosecute Richard after world renowned forensic scientist Henry Lee deemed Richard to be the killer. The case stands as the first murder investigation where a body has yet to be recovered.

How Much of Fargo is True?

Fargo is as true as it wants to be, but does not follow the traditional rules of a creating an adaptation of true events for the screen. If anything, Fargo can be described as segmented pieces of true stories stitched together, akin to anthology series on TV. It has elements of true stories and cites real-life crime as the bones of the film, but the correlation between one event to the next does not actually find any connection. Indeed, a General Motors employee in the financial department was responsible for committing fraud, which supports the character narrative for Lundegaard throughout the film. The Coen Brothers chose to marry the financial crime with murder, pulling in the disappearance and death of Helle Craft. Out of context, the wood chipper scene does have some truth to it. Fargo, in fact, does rely on half-truths when creating the entire story. However, each event does not remotely relate to each other. The truths are isolated from their frame of reference, meaning that the Coen Brothers' claims at the beginning of the film are true, but Fargo does not depict a completely accurate story.