In today’s landscape of film, Frances McDormand is a living acting legend. She holds the second-most wins for Best Actress at the Academy Awards, on top of winning two awards in the same category at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and one at the Golden Globes.
The wife and frequent collaborator of Joel Coen, Frances is known for her dry, sardonic characters who boast tough exteriors. And she had the most important year of her career in 1996. Some years throughout film history will be known for specific genres, performances, or characters — 1982 will be remembered for its science fiction films, while 1995 will be remembered for its supporting characters. When fans look back at 1996 in film, though, their first thought will be the many impressive performances of Frances McDormand.
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The Years Leading Up
Orion Pictures
Again, before this breakthrough year for McDormand, she had already been a longtime collaborator of her husband, Joel, and his brother, Ethan. Mostly in supporting roles, she had appeared in four of their films before the year at hand — and the first one was the Brothers’ directorial debut, Blood Simple (1984). The next was Raising Arizona (1987), followed by Miller’s Crossing in 1990 and Barton Fink in 1991.
That said: the biggest role of her career up to this point was undoubtedly Mississippi Burning (1988). Directed by Alan Parker, the film starred Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe as FBI agents looking into the disappearance of three civil rights workers. The film received seven nominations at the Academy Awards, and while it only walked away with a win for cinematography, the performances were equally well-praised.
Particularly that of Frances McDormand. She appeared as the wife of Deputy Sheriff Clinton Pell (played by Brad Dourif), and her performance garnered critical acclaim — including her first ever nomination at the Oscars, one for Best Supporting Actress.
Her Breakthrough With Fargo
Gramercy Pictures
In the biggest film of both her and her husband’s career — at least, up to that point, and arguably still — Fargo (1996) was both written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It was their sixth feature film, their first time garnering a nomination (and a win, for that matter) at the Oscars, and it’s since been selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry.
What’s more is that the film made an impressive $60.6 million on a $7 million budget, and its aggregate score on Rotten Tomatoes totals to a whopping 94% approval rating. In it, McDormand played a pregnant Chief of Police from Minnesota, and ever since, she’s received nonstop critical acclaim.
The role won her the Academy Award for Best Actress, one she would subsequently receive twice more. The second time came with Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) by Martin McDonough, while the third came with Nomadland (2020) by Chloé Zhao. There’s no denying, though, that Marge Gunderson remains the quintessential character of her career.
More McDormand Projects From 1996
Paramount Pictures
Of course, McDormand can’t be crowned the best actress of an entire year just through one role alone. Adapted by Steve Shagan and Ann Biderman from a novel of the same name by William Diehl, Primal Fear (1996) followed an attorney going to bat for an altar boy who was accused of murdering a Catholic archbishop. It starred Richard Gere as the defense attorney, with Edward Norton playing Aaron, the altar boy.
Here, McDormand plays Dr. Molly Arrington, the neuropsychologist who speculates that Aaron has dissociative identity disorder. Norton outshone everyone in Primal Fear (1996), so it’s not to disparage the efforts of Frances to say she wasn’t the star of the show, but her performance was impressive nonetheless. Her character was smart, well-spoken, and stoic through-and-through. Plus, the movie was well-enough-received with a 77% on Rotten Tomatoes, and it made great money at the box office — $103 million on a $30 million budget.
The other project she took part in this year was called Lone Star (1996), a neo-Western mystery film written and directed by John Sayles. She played a character named Bunny, surrounded by other notable supporting roles from Kris Kristofferson and Matthew McConaughey. But Bunny stood out for her idiosyncratic southern accent and obsession with professional football. At times, Bunny even appeared hysterical. This was the perfect foil to her character in Primal Fear, both of which were balanced by Marge from Fargo.
With an impressive 92% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Lone Star is among the most underrated films from everyone involved, including McDormand. And that’s in spite of her only showing up in the movie for only five minutes as the ex-wife of the lead character.
Other Prominent Performers From 1996
Geoffrey Rush won Best Actor for his role as David Helfott in Shine (1996), and he also appeared in Children of the Revolution (1996). Tom Cruise, on the other hand, was only nominated for Best Actor as the titular character in Jerry Maguire (1996), but also starred in Mission: Impossible (1996). However, Cruise had long-since established himself as an accomplished actor thanks to films like Risky Business (1983) and Top Gun (1985).
Kristen Scott Thomas had a respectable year, also showing up in Mission Impossible (1996). The most famous role of her career came with The English Patient (1996), which garnered her a nomination for Best Actress. But there’s one other person who truly gave McDormand a run for her money in terms of sheer performance quality.
In his on-screen debut, Edward Norton was nominated for Best Supporting Actor thanks to his role as Aaron Stampler in Primal Fear (1996). He also appeared in The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) and Everyone Says I Love You (1996).
In the end, though: not only did Frances win her award for Best Actress, but the two other films she appeared in from 1996 were also worth writing home about. With great money made at the box office, Primal Fear featured a plot twist for the ages. And with regard to Lone Star: writer-director John Sayles was nominated for Best Original Screenplay.
All of those other thespians performed valiantly in this 12-month period, but none as much so as Frances McDormand. Her characters ran the gamuts of personality and emotion, from stoicism and hysteria to everything in between. And ultimately for her work, 1996 will forever be remembered as the year of Frances McDormand.
