New York playwright Barton Fink lives in his own personal Hell. Whilst he purports to be the voice of the Common Man of the two-bit salesmen and the fishmongers he is not one himself. He presents other with the illusion of modesty, but he's knows that he's good at what he does and he loves to hear it. Barton claims to be a spokesman for the working-class, but his time is too important to be concerned with anything they have to say. Indeed, throughout the film, we hardly even meet any of these people whom Barton is said to represent with the exception of his disruptive neighbour Charlie Meadows (played brilliantly by John Goodman), who turns out to be something more than a lousy insurance salesman.
My opening description has inevitably made out Barton Fink (John Turturro) to be a horrible, instantly unlikable character, though, for much of the film, we are led to believe everything that he claims, and to be sympathetic with him. After one of his New York plays, 'Bare Ruined Choirs', becomes a tremendous critical and commercial success, Barton is hired by Capitol Pictures in Los Angeles to write the screenplay for an upcoming Wallace Beery B-movie about professional wrestling. The only problem is that Barton is suffering from quite a debilitating case of writer's block.
At the 1991 Cannes Film Festival, the fourth film from Joel and Ethan Coen was unanimously awarded the prestigious Palme d'Or (Golden Palm). In an unprecedented occurrence in the history of the festival, 'Barton Fink' also left with the two other major awards, Best Actor (Turturro) and Best Director (Joel Coen). None of these accolades were undeserved Turturro was extremely strong in the first leading role of his that I've seen, though perhaps a shade below his absolutely mesmeric turn as the slimy, double-crossing bookie, Bernie, in the Coen Brothers' previous effort, 'Miller's Crossing' (1990).
It is best not to take the events in 'Barton Fink' too literally. The Coen Brothers' pictures are rife with stunning imagery and symbolism, and, due to the tight-lipped media habits of the directors, multiple unverified interpretations of the film's meaning continue to circulate, ranging from the film being a simple satire of Hollywood, an allegory for Hell or even a representation of the rise of Nazicism! In terms of film-making style, 'Barton Fink' is one hundred percent "Coen-esque," though its heightened level of surrealism certainly invites comparisons with such films as David Lynch's debut masterpiece, 'Eraserhead.'
A host of actors have made their careers through performing as Coen film regulars, and 'Barton Fink' contains at least three of them. Turturro ('Miller's Crossing', 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?'), as mentioned earlier, is brilliant in the main role, his character gradually changing from being likable to unlikable as we learn more about his nature. John Goodman ('Raising Arizona,' 'The Big Lebowski,' 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?') is fantastic as always as Barton's disruptive and deceptively "common" neighbour. Steve Buscemi, who seems to briefly appear in just about every Coen Brothers film, has an enjoyably quirky supporting role as Chet, the desk-man at the Earle Hotel where Barton stays. Other well-acted supporting roles include Jack Lipnick (an Oscar-nominated Michael Lerner), the fast-talking, no-nonsense head of Capitol Pictures; W.P. Mayhew (John Mahoney), the well-known but increasingly drunken writer; Mayhew's overworked "secretary" (Judy Davis); Capitol Pictures producer Ben Geisler (Tony Shalhoub), and Lipnick's unappreciated assistant, Lou Breeze (John Polito).
As I've expressed in just about every other Coen Brother's film review I've written, 'Barton Fink' is brimming with stunning imagery, witty dialogue and a cast of enjoyably quirky characters. Try not to take everything as literally as it is presented to you, and I'm sure you'll agree that this is one of their best.
My opening description has inevitably made out Barton Fink (John Turturro) to be a horrible, instantly unlikable character, though, for much of the film, we are led to believe everything that he claims, and to be sympathetic with him. After one of his New York plays, 'Bare Ruined Choirs', becomes a tremendous critical and commercial success, Barton is hired by Capitol Pictures in Los Angeles to write the screenplay for an upcoming Wallace Beery B-movie about professional wrestling. The only problem is that Barton is suffering from quite a debilitating case of writer's block.
At the 1991 Cannes Film Festival, the fourth film from Joel and Ethan Coen was unanimously awarded the prestigious Palme d'Or (Golden Palm). In an unprecedented occurrence in the history of the festival, 'Barton Fink' also left with the two other major awards, Best Actor (Turturro) and Best Director (Joel Coen). None of these accolades were undeserved Turturro was extremely strong in the first leading role of his that I've seen, though perhaps a shade below his absolutely mesmeric turn as the slimy, double-crossing bookie, Bernie, in the Coen Brothers' previous effort, 'Miller's Crossing' (1990).
It is best not to take the events in 'Barton Fink' too literally. The Coen Brothers' pictures are rife with stunning imagery and symbolism, and, due to the tight-lipped media habits of the directors, multiple unverified interpretations of the film's meaning continue to circulate, ranging from the film being a simple satire of Hollywood, an allegory for Hell or even a representation of the rise of Nazicism! In terms of film-making style, 'Barton Fink' is one hundred percent "Coen-esque," though its heightened level of surrealism certainly invites comparisons with such films as David Lynch's debut masterpiece, 'Eraserhead.'
A host of actors have made their careers through performing as Coen film regulars, and 'Barton Fink' contains at least three of them. Turturro ('Miller's Crossing', 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?'), as mentioned earlier, is brilliant in the main role, his character gradually changing from being likable to unlikable as we learn more about his nature. John Goodman ('Raising Arizona,' 'The Big Lebowski,' 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?') is fantastic as always as Barton's disruptive and deceptively "common" neighbour. Steve Buscemi, who seems to briefly appear in just about every Coen Brothers film, has an enjoyably quirky supporting role as Chet, the desk-man at the Earle Hotel where Barton stays. Other well-acted supporting roles include Jack Lipnick (an Oscar-nominated Michael Lerner), the fast-talking, no-nonsense head of Capitol Pictures; W.P. Mayhew (John Mahoney), the well-known but increasingly drunken writer; Mayhew's overworked "secretary" (Judy Davis); Capitol Pictures producer Ben Geisler (Tony Shalhoub), and Lipnick's unappreciated assistant, Lou Breeze (John Polito).
As I've expressed in just about every other Coen Brother's film review I've written, 'Barton Fink' is brimming with stunning imagery, witty dialogue and a cast of enjoyably quirky characters. Try not to take everything as literally as it is presented to you, and I'm sure you'll agree that this is one of their best.