Daily Dialogue — February 26, 2020

“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’tcha know that? And here ya are, and it’s a beautiful day. Well. I just don’t understand it.”

— Fargo (1996), written by Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Coen Brothers.

Trivia: William H. Macy stated in an interview that, despite evidence to the contrary, he did hardly any ad-libbing at all. Most of his character’s stuttering mannerisms were written in the script exactly the way he does them in the film.

Dialogue On Dialogue: The Coens appear to have a thing about characters who just don’t understand things. Here is Marge at the end of Fargo:

Here is Ed Bell confounded by the ways of the modern world:

And here are two C.I.A. officers struggling to decipher the bizarre chain of events that led to… well… they don’t know, but “no biggie.”

Absurdity and senselessness are common themes in the Coen’s story worlds.