Editing Fargo (1996 film) (section)

==Plot==
In 1987, Jerry Lundegaard is the executive sales manager of a [[Minneapolis]] car dealership owned by his father-in-law, Wade Gustafson. Desperate for money, he plans to have his wife Jean kidnapped so he can [[extortion|extort]] a ransom from Wade. On the recommendation of dealership mechanic and parolee Shep Proudfoot, Jerry meets Gaear Grimsrud and Carl Showalter at a bar in [[Fargo, North Dakota]]. Gaear and Carl agree to kidnap Jean in exchange for a new [[Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera]] and half of the $80,000 [[ransom]] Jerry intends to extort from Wade.

Believing he has secured a $750,000 loan from Wade for a lucrative real estate deal, Jerry unsuccessfully tries to call off the kidnapping. However, Wade and his accountant Stan Grossman inform Jerry that Wade will handle the deal himself, offering Jerry only a modest finder's fee. Carl and Gaear kidnap Jean and transport her to a remote cabin in [[Moose Lake Township, Cass County, Minnesota|Moose Lake]]. A [[Minnesota State Patrol|state trooper]] stops them near [[Brainerd, Minnesota|Brainerd]] for not displaying [[Vehicle registration plate#Temporary registration plates|temporary registration tags]]. The trooper rejects Carl's clumsy bribe attempt and orders Carl out of the car. The trooper hears Jean whimpering in the back seat, so Gaear shoots the trooper dead, then kills two passersby who witnessed the scene.

Brainerd police chief Marge Gunderson, who is seven months pregnant, begins investigating. She correctly deduces that the dead trooper was ticketing a car with [[vehicle registration plates of the United States#General registration license plates|dealer plates]]. She later learns that two men driving a dealership vehicle checked into a nearby motel with two [[prostitutes|call girls]] and placed a call to Shep. Marge visits Wade's dealership, where Shep feigns ignorance and Jerry nervously insists no cars are missing. While in Minneapolis, Marge reconnects with Mike Yanagita, a high school classmate. Mike awkwardly tries to romance her before breaking down and telling her his wife has died.

Jerry tells Wade the kidnappers have demanded $1 million and will deal only through him. In light of the three murders, Carl demands Jerry hand over the $80,000 he believes is the entire ransom. Shep finds Carl with a call girl in Shep's Minneapolis apartment and beats him for bringing Shep to the police's attention. Carl angrily calls Jerry and demands that he bring the money immediately. Wade insists on delivering the ransom himself and meets Carl at a parking garage. Wade refuses to hand over the money without seeing his daughter, so Carl shoots him. Wade fires back, wounding Carl in the jaw. Carl kills Wade and a garage attendant, then drives away with the cash.

On the way to Moose Lake, Carl discovers the briefcase contains $1 million. He takes out $80,000 to split with Gaear and buries the rest in the snow alongside the highway. Marge learns from a friend that Yanagita lied; he has no wife and is mentally ill. Reflecting on this, Marge returns to Wade's dealership. An agitated Jerry again insists no cars are missing and tells Marge he will double-check the inventory. Marge sees Jerry driving off the lot and calls the state police.

At the cabin, Carl finds that Gaear killed Jean because she would not be quiet. Carl says they should split up and leave immediately, and they argue over who will keep the Ciera. Carl insults Gaear and attempts to leave with the car, but Gaear kills him with an axe. Marge drives to Moose Lake, tipped off by a local bartender who overheard a customer brag about killing someone. She sees the Ciera, then discovers Gaear feeding Carl's body into a [[woodchipper]]. Gaear attempts to flee, but Marge shoots him in the leg and arrests him. Shortly after, Jerry is arrested at a motel outside [[Bismarck, North Dakota]].

Marge's husband Norm tells her the [[United States Postal Service|Postal Service]] has selected his painting of a [[mallard]] for a three-cent [[postage stamp]] and complains that his friend's painting won the competition for a twenty-nine cent stamp. Marge reminds him that smaller denomination stamps are used to make up the difference between the face value of old stamps and the new cost of first-class postage. Norm is reassured, and the couple happily anticipates the birth of their child.