Critics rave about Ewan McGregor’s dual performance in Fargo as feuding brothers
The Trainspotting actor is “finally getting the chance to show off everything he can do,” said one critic
After two fantastic seasons of Fargo starring Martin Freeman and Kirsten Dunst respectively in the leads, there was a lot of expectation weighted on Ewan McGregor’s shoulders.
Taking on the role of twins Emmitt and Ray Stussy in season three of Fargo, McGregor had a lot to live up to with seasons one and two scooping bundles of Golden Globes and Emmys.
But if the first reviews from the US are anything to go by, it looks like season three could shape up to be even better…
TV Guide said that "McGregor is the attention-grabber with his showy dual roles, and he's probably going to win an Emmy for his excellent work,” but added that “[Mary Elizabeth] Winstead is delightful as the ride-or-die chick Nikki Swango, [Carrie] Coon is the reincarnation of Frances McDormand's Oscar-winning performance in Fargo the movie and [Michael] Stuhlbarg continues his streak of being amazing in everything he's in.”
Meanwhile, The AV Club said that “McGregor manages to carve out distinct personalities in his dual performance, though the brothers do share a sense of exasperation with the other” and that “his interactions with himself flow better than you'd expect, but it's with Michael Stuhlbarg that he has the most chemistry.”
Although GQ.com said that the Trainspotting star is “finally getting the chance to show off everything he can do,” Variety added: “Even as one appreciates McGregor’s game and largely successful attempts to master the twangy vowels of the Upper Midwest, around the margins, “Fargo” supplies more interesting types and troublemakers.”
Away from McGregor’s performance, the show largely won praise from critics. The New York Times said: “if its run continues, [Fargo] could be a big-ticket, bigger-scale version of a TV standby, the reliable procedural with top-shelf talent,” although IGN.com said that the show returned with “its most standalone and gimmicky season to date.”
But it did continue: “Though it was still laced with humor, beauty, occasional oddities, and sideways tragedies. Many of the puzzle pieces feel familiar to the Fargo formula in this opener though that doesn't rob the show of its mirth and majesty.”
Fargo will air in the UK on Channel 4 later this year
