Coen Brothers month: Barton Fink

A review by Brooks Rich

This is the Coen's weirdest film hands down. It's a bizarre film about the struggles of the writer, set against an old Hollywood backdrop. This has always felt like an outlier in their filmography. There's not really another one of their films I can compare it to. It is the closest they have ever come to making a surreal horror film.

John Turturro plays the titular character, a successful New York playwright who in 1941 accepts a contract to write for a Hollywood studio. Barton moves to Los Angeles and checks into the Hotel Earle, a bizarre run down creepy hotel. There Barton meets his odd neighbor Charlie Meadows and suffers from writer's block as he struggles to write a wrestling picture. That's all I can about Barton Fink without spoiling it.

Barton Fink is a film both about the struggles of the artist and what happens when an artist tries to change what they do. Barton's attempt to move from the stage to screen causes not only professional stress but personal as well. I guess Barton is having a midlife crisis in the film. Nothing is really black and white in this film. It's a baffling mix of horror, noir, and coming of age. Barton does go through a change throughout the film. What that change is and if it's a positive change is up to the audience to decide.

This film is art directed to within an inch of its life. The set of the Hotel Earle is so strange that it almost feels like a different film whenever a scene takes place there. Outside of the hotel, Hollywood is bright and welcoming. Inside the hotel, it's dark and gloomy, with low light and noises echoing through the hotel. There are moments where the Coen's create a mood better suited for a horror film. The scene where Barton first hears Charlie is right out of a ghost story.

This is will be the strangest film covered this month. The Coen's have even said that this film doesn't fit into a specific genre. It's closest genre is probably noir but even then it's not quite a film noir. Barton Fink is its own thing. I personally adore this film but I understand if it doesn't work for some people.

Comments

Forgotten Film Friday: Absolute Power

Clint Eastwood stars as Luther Whitney, a jewel thief who works in the Washington DC area. One night while he is stealing from a mansion he is forced to hide in a secret compartment with a two way mirror. From there he observes a sexual rezendevous with the wife of a powerful man and the President of the United States Alan Richmond (Gene Hackman) Suddenly the president gets aggressive and while defending herself the woman is shot to death by two Secret Service agents. Luther manages to get away with a letter opener the woman stabbed the president with. At first Luther plans to flee the country. But when he is disgusted by a statement the president makes, Luther decides to expose the crime. I miss these kind of films. The nineties was a great time for thrillers exactly like this. They are not the flashiest films but they are also not obsessed with big action scenes. It's all plot and character with them. Sure this plot might be a little out there but Eastwood makes it work. He's...

Oscar Bait month: The Shipping News

A retrospective by Brooks Rich Lasse Hallstrom is one of those directors I think is incredibly talented but his films normally don't do a thing for me. There just always that comes up short for me, whether its the story or how its shot or the acting or something. Most people will know Hallstrom as the director of What's Eating Gilbert Grape, the breakout role of Leonardo Dicaprio. That is probably my favorite of his films. I know everyone loves Chocolat. Great, enjoy, I think it's lame. But today let's discuss his follow up to The Cider House Rules, his film from 1999 which did very well come awards season, and Chocolat. Both of these films did very well, especially The Cider House Rules. The big reward it got was Best Supporting Actor for Michael Caine. It also won Best Adapted Screenplay for John Irving. This isn't fair to Cider House Rules but I think it's overrated as far as nominations go. 1999 is one of the greatest years in cinema and really? We nominate...

John Travolta month: Saturday Night Fever

A retrospective by Brooks Rich So this was not the big start of John Travolta's career. That would be the classic sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter. But this did elevate Travolta to another level. For any of you going oh come on. This silly movie with a disco soundtrack? Come on, Brooks. Just wait. Have you ever actually seen this? This isn't about disco. Disco just happens to be the music of choice. This about the kind of people who are kings at the dance clubs and then losers the rest of the time. There is a lot of darkness and truth in this film. So if you've never seen it please. Do yourself a flavor and check it out. Just watch it and then come back to read this. This is a movie about the different types of people we become between our real lives and our weekend lives. Tony Manero is a regular working class guy in a Brooklyn neighborhood, struggling to make ends meet and dealing with his loving but at times overbearing family. He lives in the shadow of his priest brother. ...

Cinema Basement

Search This Blog