TV Review: Fargo Year 4 starring Chris Rock

September 14th 2020, 1:15pm

Plot: With a cast led by Chris Rock, Fargo’s latest installment is set in Kansas City, 1950, and follows two criminal syndicates jockeying to control an alternate economy of exploitation, graft, and drugs while fighting for a piece of the American dream. As tensions rise, the crime heads trade their youngest sons in an attempt to strike an uneasy peace.

Review: After three years, we are finally getting more Fargo! Noah Hawley's original take on the iconic Coen Brothers film of the same name should never have worked. But, after three brilliant and award-winning entries in the crime anthology, the highly anticipated new chapter begins in an all-new setting with an all-new cast led by Chris Rock. Set in the 1950s, this season of Fargo is every bit as darkly hilarious and engaging as the first three and feels timelier than ever with a plot that takes a look at the organized crime side of the immigrant experience. Originally set to premiere earlier this year, COVID-19 safety measures allowed production to finally wrap recently on the final two episodes. Well worth the wait, Fargo's fourth season is quite simply a masterpiece.

Setting the new season in Kansas City will ring bells for fans of the series as the KC mafia played a role in the 1979-set second season of the series. By showing the origins of that crime syndicate, Noah Hawley has given us a glimpse into how two formidable families cross paths with a murderous nurse and the daughter of an undertaker. As usual, nothing is quite what it seems in the world of Fargo with biting commentary and satire undercutting a traditional tale full of distinctive characters and complex storytelling.

The season opens with a flashback to the evolution of the mafia in Kansas City as we see control shift from Jewish to Irish and then Italian control. At that point, Chris Rock's arrival as Loy Cannon signals another shift in power. Mafia customs are shown as a truce that holds tentative power in the city and it is truly engrossing to watch. Once the series settles into the main time period, we begin to see where the power lies this season. Cannon's clan, led by Chris Rock in one of the best performances of his career, faces off against the Fadda clan led by Jason Schwartzman as eldest son Josto. Rock and Schwartzman play well opposite one another, but the scene-stealers here are Jessie Buckley and E'myri Crutchfield.

Buckley is on a roll with her recent turn in Charlie Kaufman's I'M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS and delivers here as the Minnesota connection to the Fargo mythology. As Oraetta Mayflower, Buckley imbues her character with a wholesomeness that may hide a razor's edge. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Crutchfield plays Ethelrida Pearl Smutny as a precocious teenager whose connection to the story develops over multiple episodes. Both actresses could not be playing more different roles but their narratives converge and show not only the significance of women in this male-centric storyline but also how unexpectedly every single character this season is treated when everyone is a minority.

While Chris Rock is the biggest name advertised this season, the supporting cast may be the strongest Fargo has ever had. From Timothy Olyphant as Deafy Wickware and Ben Whishaw as Rabbi Milligan to LEGION veteran Jeremie Harris, this cast has unexpectedly great performances throughout. Musician Andrew Bird and Yellowstone actress Kelsey Asbille appear in brief roles but the best characters here are Jack Huston as Detective Odis Weff who suffers from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and veteran actor Glynn Turman as the perfectly named Doctor Senator. Everyone is great and the ensemble embraces Hawley's distinct approach to the story which feels at times more like it was inspired by MILLER'S CROSSING than FARGO and that is fine by me. It makes for one hell of a season.

Having seen 9 of the 11 episodes that comprise this season, I am confident that this season will rank amongst the best of 2020 and could be the best season of Fargo to date. While Noah Hawley's LUCY IN THE SKY met with mixed feelings, he is back at the top of his game here. Like recent series Watchmen and Lovecraft Country, Fargo is showing us a look back at the historical and contemporary perception of race while not proselytizing or forcing a message. Hell, this story shows that even Irish and Italians are not White enough which is something many of us often forget. Darkly funny as the three seasons that came before it, this chapter of Fargo is also the most biting and violent of the series. With beautiful transitions and some of the best camerawork the series has ever shown, Fargo continues to be a series that redefines not only itself but what makes television great.

Fargo's fourth season premieres September 27th on FX and the next day on FX on Hulu.