The best Frances McDormand’s crime movies
An American film, stage and television actress. McDormand began her career on stage and made her screen debut in the 1984 film Blood Simple, having since appeared in several theatrical and television roles. McDormand has been recognized for her performances in 'Mississippi Burning' (1988), 'Short Cuts' (1993), 'Fargo' (1996), 'Wonder Boys' (2000), 'Almost Famous' (2000), 'North Country' (2005), 'Moonrise Kingdom' (2012), 'Hail, Caesar!' (2016) and 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' (2017).
Throughout her career, she has been nominated for eight Golden Globes, five Academy Awards, four BAFTA Awards, and three Emmy Awards. She is one of the few performers to achieve the "Triple Crown of Acting", winning an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award. She won her first Academy Award for Best Actress in 1997 for her role as Marge Gunderson in 'Fargo'. She also won Best Supporting Actress from the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the Florida Film Critics Circle, and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association for her performance in 'Wonder Boys' (2000). McDormand returned to the stage in the David Lindsay-Abaire play Good People on Broadway from February 8, 2011 to April 24, 2011. In 2017, McDormand starred in 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' which earned her a second Academy Award for Best Actress.
McDormand has been married to filmmaker Joel Coen since 1984, they reside in New York City along with their adopted son Pedro.
Fargo
8.1/10
Jerry, a small-town Minnesota car salesman is bursting at the seams with debt... but he's got a plan. He's going to hire two thugs to kidnap his wife in a scheme to collect a hefty ransom from his wealthy father-in-law. It's going to be a snap and nobody's going to get hurt... until people start dying. Enter Police Chief Marge, a coffee-drinking, parka-wearing - and extremely pregnant - investigator who'll stop at nothing to get her man. And if you think her small-time investigative skills will give the crooks a run for their ransom... you betcha!
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
8.1/10
After seven months have passed without a culprit in her daughter's murder case, Mildred Hayes makes a bold move, painting three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at Bill Willoughby, the town's revered chief of police. When his second-in-command Officer Jason Dixon, an immature mother's boy with a penchant for violence, gets involved, the battle between Mildred and Ebbing's law enforcement is only exacerbated.
Primal Fear
7.7/10
An arrogant, high-powered attorney takes on the case of a poor altar boy found running away from the scene of the grisly murder of the bishop who has taken him in. The case gets a lot more complex when the accused reveals that there may or may not have been a third person in the room. The intensity builds when a surprise twist alters everyone's perception of the crime.
Mississippi Burning
7.8/10
Two FBI agents investigating the murder of civil rights workers during the 60s seek to breach the conspiracy of silence in a small Southern town where segregation divides black and white. The younger agent trained in FBI school runs up against the small town ways of his partner, a former sheriff.
Raising Arizona
7.3/10
When a childless couple of an ex-con and an ex-cop decide to help themselves to one of another family's quintuplets, their lives become more complicated than they anticipated.
Darkman
6.4/10
Dr. Peyton Westlake is on the verge of realizing a major breakthrough in synthetic skin when his laboratory is destroyed by gangsters. Having been burned beyond recognition and forever altered by an experimental medical procedure, Westlake becomes known as Darkman, assuming alternate identities in his quest for revenge and a new life with a former love.
City by the Sea
6.1/10
Vincent LaMarca is a dedicated and well-respected New York City police detective who has gone to great lengths to distance himself from his past, but then makes the terrible discovery that his own son has fallen into a life of crime.
Miller's Crossing
7.7/10
Set in 1929, a political boss and his advisor have a parting of the ways when they both fall for the same woman.
Blood Simple
7.5/10
The owner of a seedy small-town Texas bar discovers that one of his employees is having an affair with his wife. A chaotic chain of misunderstandings, lies and mischief ensues after he devises a plot to have them murdered.
The Man Who Wasn't There
7.5/10
A tale of murder, crime and punishment set in the summer of 1949. Ed Crane, a barber in a small California town, is dissatisfied with his life, but his wife Doris' infidelity and a mysterious opportunity presents him with a chance to change it.
Crimewave
5.6/10
Fed up of his business partner, Ernest Trend hires the services of two exterminators. When things go drastically wrong and they murder the wrong man, the race is on to frame an innocent video surveillance man.
Johnny Skidmarks
5.5/10
Johnny Scardino is working for blackmailers, photographing wealthy guys in seedy motels. One such assignment turns the wrong way and blackmailers die one by one. Is Johnny the next on the list?
Palookaville
6.5/10
Jerry and his two pals, Russ and Syd, are just looking for some easy money to help them break out of their nowhere lives in their nowhere town. Despite a bungled jewelry store heist which exposes their incompetence as criminals, a fateful event (and an old black-and-white film) convinces them that they can pull off an armored-truck robbery. While they are busy plotting their caper, their dysfunctional families spin out of control, all around them.
Vengeance: The Story of Tony Cimo
4.7/10
A true story of the lives of a family from South Carolina torn apart after the murder of Bill and Myrtle Moon. Although the killer is caught the judicial system takes too long for the Moon's devoted stepson and he takes matter into his own hands.
