LAST EDITED ON 05-12-14 AT 03:47 PM (EST)The signing from Russell Harvard's Mr. Wrench character is completely authentic with minor exaggerations for visual effect to the dialogue, while Adam Goldberg's Mr. Numbers is a new signer so he's rather choppy - my friend mentioned that he was only in his second week of learning ASL when the below scene was filmed.
It seems very Coen-esque to have the dialogue take place without any subtitles provided, but it would seem pretty easy to tell that not everything is being translated to what is actually being said out loud. It's actually a pretty funny interaction and adds to the mystery for the general audience to be out of the loop.
Here's a rough transcript of the first scene between them in Episode 2 where the two goons meet up with Mr. Gold:
Scene this dialogue is from
Mr. Wrench - the deaf goon
Mr. Numbers - the other goon who is also the "interpreter"
Mr. Gold - worked for Hess
Mr. Wrench: Ask him about the library.
Mr. Numbers (voice): There's no library in this town ... Why is there no library in this town?
Mr. Gold: Umm ... cutbacks?
Mr. Numbers (signing): He doesn't know.
Mr. Wrench: Tell him that his tie is absolutely hideous.
Mr. Numbers (voice): (nervous laugh) He thinks every town should have a library.
Mr. Gold: I agree ... Tell him I agree.
Mr. Numbers (signing): His mother bought it for him.
Mr. Numbers (voice): Fargo sent us to find out what happened to Hess.
Mr. Gold: He got stabbed in the back of the head at a strip club is what happened to him.
Mr. Numbers (signing): He was killed while with a prostitute.
Mr. Wrench: Was he standing up at the time with the girl, or was the girl screwing him while on top?
Mr. Numbers (signing): What? You want to ask him specifically what position he was in with this girl?
Mr. Wrench: Yeah! It could be important information. For all we know he could have been screwing ho's on a boat when all of a sudden a swordfish jumped out of the water and landed on the back of his head stabbing him.
Mr. Numbers (voice): You believe this was connected to the business?
Mr. Gold: I ... Things have been quiet. No labor BS ... No skirmishes with other trucking concerns.
Mr. Numbers (voice): So...?
Mr. Gold: There was a guy, I told this to Fargo, he came by the garage the day it happened. Brown hair, just under six feet, not young, not old, had a cut on his forehead. Said he just wanted to take a look at Sam, which he did, then he left.
Mr. Numbers (signing): The other day the man came by...
Mr. Gold: Look...
Mr. Numbers (voice): Hold on a second!
Mr. Numbers (signing): He came by the other day and was taking a look at the body.
Mr. Gold: Look ... He was my friend, ok? Sam, sure he was a jerk, but deep down ... All I'm saying is you're gonna find him right? The guy who did it.
Mr. Numbers (signing): He wants to know what we are going to do with the man.
Mr. Wrench: (slowly) Slit his throat.
Mr. Numbers (voice): (nicely) We'll find him.