Barton Fink

Rating:
Summary: Great when you realize who the hero is. Lame before that
Review: I saw this movie a couple of times, and like other reviewers I didn't get it. I've loved and loathed Coen Brothers movies. Thought Fargo was overhyped. Loved The Big Lebowski and O Brother Where Art Thou. The mere thought of The Hudsucker Proxy makes me happy. You couldn't pay me to watch Blood Simple or The Man Who Wasn't There again.

This movie tore me. The first and second time I watched it I realized that I had a bias. If I don't like the character be portrayed, I usually don't like the movie. The main question arises in "why would I want to be trapped in a movie/book/play with this annoying creep for the time it takes to watch or read?" And I despised John Turturro's Barton Fink. He's a whiny, clueless jackass and it's only the ending that I liked.

Then I realized that John Goodman is the hero of the movie. The "everyman" that can't stand the artistic pretentions of the artist, while admiring the art nonetheless. Barton Fink goes on about wanting to write movies for the everyman, but he won't even listen to John Goodman when Goodman mentions having some stories. Through Goodman, Turturro loses everything and at the end instead of the tragic hero that I conceived, Barton Fink comes out as a whiny little creep, barely humbled by the experience.

But it's enough humbling for a laugh.

So watch it with Goodman in mind as the hero. And realize tht Turturro is supposed to be a pretentious dweeb and laugh at him all you'd like. Then you'll enjoy the movie.

Rating:
Summary: Humor and Intelligence of Coen Brothers
Review: If you have seen one of the Coen Brothers' movies and liked it, you should try this one. One of the greatest movies that Coen Brothers produced. This movie would take you to a surreal world. A world that you can not imagine.
John Turturro and John Goodman play excellent. John Turturro is an idealist scriptwriter. But he should think differently when he is writing a script in a Hollywood style. John Goodman who shines in a brilliantly conceived and executed role. He is my man. While I will not give away the secret behind his character, this is not a performance that any true movie fan will want to miss. It is one of the most dynamic and powerful performance in recent memory. And so, you will not want to miss this, the Coen brothers most original and tightest film, even beyond their other masterpiece, "Fargo."

Rating:
Summary: A PM exercise in self-indulgence......
Review: The Coen Bro's have concocted an anti-tale reeking of self-indulgence in BARTON FINK."Fresh Fish!"is battle-cry opening this twisted black comedy that borders on existential thriller and twilight zone visit to THE insane asylum ("Hollywood"). None of the characters in the story...with possible exception of John Goodman...are appealing, funny, heroic or pathos-evoking. This PM/SM horror story is more horrid than horrible. The Coens are artists parodying themselves and "dumping" on a bankrupt artiste milieu that lauds them(That this film was awarded multiple Cannes prizes probably astonished them).

John Turturro is excellently repugnant as Barton Fink. The "artist" as existential hero never got wayLaid worse until John Goodman lays-it on in perverse parody of "wrestling". The "Hotel California" venue-prison that's center of Fink-land fantasy is lifted from Roman Polanski's ROSEMARY'S BABY New York mansion where anti-Christ was spawned amid frolicking warlocks and witches.The William Faulkner-clone could be disturbing if you can be disturbed by the notion literature, as study of the human condition, isn't SERIOUS or worthy(because Post-Modern Human Condition...people!...aren't serious or worthy)?

I don't buy it. "I AM an ARTIST!" is supposed to be Finkster's defense as he's about to be "damned". As writer he probably deserves it. But as everyman "emissary",there's something fishy about BARTON FINK. The Cohen style bedazzles many(I enjoyed MILLER'S CROSSING & RAISING ARIZONA). But something fish-rotten-in-Denmark/Hollywood-Terra and archly condescending is being foisted-off.The POST MODERN proposition is violent assault on Meaning & Dignity. "I'll show you violence!" declares Goodman's MADMAN. Are the Cohens' playing Nietzsche or cannibalizing what "feeds" them? That the film-industry applauded such self-absorption speaks for itself. I watched hoping some moment of affirmation(or guiless humor)would redeem FINKMAN. The closing shot showing a sea gull(The Holy Spirit/ Melville's sky hawk?)knocked from the sky "sealed" my repugnance. The "Brothers C" know what they're doing; here it's horrifying/disgusting. Like THE THING in John Goodman's box. Maybe they should've made a gross movie about wrestling, and quit while they were aHEAD......

Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece Destined for Obscurity
Review: By far the headiest of the Coen brothers' movies, some (many?) may find Barton Fink to also be the most self-indulgent. Of course, that strikes me as its true intention, a sort of deconstruction of artistic self-indulgence. Yes, the movie is, in many ways, about Hollywood, but it transcends a mere close-up of Hollywood's seeminess and absurdity. It so far transcends this, in fact, as to make it nearly too "intelligent" for a mainstream movie. Thus, it's more or less cultish status.

Let it be known, Barton Fink should be seen by every creative writer, amateur and professional alike. It's a brilliant analysis of the creative personality and an honest portrayal of the artistic process. If you have ever written a play, poem, novel, story or script and struggled to "give birth" to your creation, Barton Fink will strike a few chords with you . . . provided you have some sense of humor and humility about your artistic persona. The movie is really more about being an artist than descending into the bowels of Hollywood. Oh by the way, did I mention that the film is wholly symbolic? Definitely not for the symbolically impaired, but psychoanalysts and scholars rejoice.

But, not to fear, this movie is also enjoyable and approachable on many levels. It's funny, well-written, well-acted, well-directed, and the scenes are set up and filmed with great attention to detail and a wonderful muted flair. All the performances are superb, but I always find John Goodman's "Common Man/Mad Man" to be genuinely inspired.

Barton Fink is really a "high literary" masterpiece in the post-modern, absurdist, mirror within a mirror tradition. If you don't like your movies challenging and thought provoking, stay back. But if absurdity is your ticket, you don't have to bring your lit. scholar's hat to dive into this surreal filmscape, in fact, you don't even have to know the difference between a B-grade wrestling flick and a post-modern mind fest . . . you only have to know how the two are really the same.

Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Coen Bro's movie
Review: I have been a moderate fan of the Coen Brothers for at least two years, in 9th grade I saw Fargo and was completely mesmorized. They have a style that is unmatched in modern film. Recently I rented Barton Fink from my local video store and to say the least I was in love with the film. Everything about it makes you think, and to tell you the truth it is the best combination of Comedy and Horror that I have ever seen. I'm not going to ruin it for you because it would be like hell watching a movie you knew the end to.

Rating:
Summary: very different, very great
Review: I saw this on television one night last year. I had the greatest time watching it.. I was going along with the buddy moments, always smiling when John Goodman came on screen, and loving the conversations between Barton and his new friend. My eyes would widen and my mouth would drop at the moments of wonder on screen - the wallpaper peeling off, the hotel picture, the ending at the beach, the fast talking president of Capitol Pictures, the long shots of the corridors in the Earl hotel.

And when everything does take a turn for the strange (about three quarters in), it gets better. It's just a great Coen film. I'm a complete fan of them; The Big Lebowski and this being my favorite films from them.

I bought the film happily. I do wish it was on DVD though, with widescreen verson present.

Oh yeah.. another thing -- this film looks amazing. It's beautiful. The way the camera moves toward peeling wallpaper is very surreal and mesmerizing.

Rating:
Summary: Barton Fink is a great one...
Review: but I do not expect everyone to get this superb Coen Brothers' thriller/comedy. Performances-brilliant. Set design and direction-superb. Story, characters, and plot twists-prodigious. However, I don't think it is a film for everyone, but I like all of the Coens' films. Give it a try.

Rating:
Summary: ...that Barton Fink feeling...
Review: "Writers come and go...we always need Indians." "Why don't you drop by my bungalow this afternoon... and we will discuss wrestling scenarios...and other things literary." "To forge reality out of everyday life..." "The common man will still be here when you get back. Who knows? They may even have one or two of them out in Hollywood." This wonderful, dark, satiric, sardonic commentary on "noble" writers...and the Hollywood system is so rich in crafty and satiric lines that you almost are forced to go back and watch the film over and over again just to get them all. "Barton Fink" is a wonder to behold...to absorb...to be in awe of...and in jaw-dropping "horror" of...you almost feel like the first-night audience at the stage production of "Springtime for Hitler" in Mel Brooks' hilarious film, "The Producers." As the person watching "Barton Fink," you just can' quite believe the genius, the wit, the dark satirical vision at work right in front of your eyes...so, disbelief...and nervous laughter...and hilarious acceptance finally overcome you...the vision is so dark, and "awful" (especially the last scenes in the hotel) that even a burning apocalypse and madness and death seem... finally...horribly hilarious. Fictional "reality" as satire and sardonic commentary becomes nihilistic vision...accompanied by laughter and feelings of guilt that you shouldn't be having so much fun in the face of such dark happenings. The quickest comparison which comes to mind in trying to place this wonderful Coen vision is Nathanael West's *Day of the Locusts.* That, too, is a very dark, satirical, and horrible vision of Hollywood and ends equally with an apocalyptic vision of destruction. This film is so witty...and deliciously "wicked" in a most satirical and sardonic way...that it would not get old even after 5,280 viewings. The sharp edge... the cheeky wit...the cutting cleverness...just get better and better with each viewing! "Seeing is [not] believing" in this case...seeing is experiencing chutzpa raised to the level of finest art... they don't get much better...more inventive...more clever...more wonderfully satiric than this!

Rating:
Summary: An Idealistic (Naive) Writer Finds Hollywood
Review: Barton Fink seems to constantly juxtapose a stuffy, self-satisfied idealism against the vulgarity and illusory nature of Hollywood. Guess which one always wins. The plot is more than a bit occult, but the acting is extremely good and was also extremely underappreciated. The Coens seem to have chosen a number of actors of not only great talent, but also great sublety of performance. John Turturro, Judy Davis, John Mahoney, Tony Shaloub and, to a far lesser extent, John Goodman all merged into their characters so well that I really didn't know it was any of them (except Goodman, who is impossible to miss, of course) in the film until the credits. Turturro, in particular, is one of the best actors around today for being able to take any sort of role and play it transparently. To illustrate by an opposite, you can compare this to Alec Baldwin's routinely coarse work in which he invariably plays himself identically, regardless of what the role requires, ala John Wayne without the likeability. One can hardly praise Turturro's work enough and Fink and Quiz Show are two of his best efforts.

Rating:
Summary: The way I see my favorite movie "Barton Fink"
Review: Reviews I read of "Barton Fink" baffle me, much in the way reviewers are baffled by the movie. Roger Ebert justifies its plot as allegorical for the rise of Nazism. Others explain Barton's experience as metaphors for Hell. Names of typewriters and detectives are supplanted into deciphering what this film's about. If these motifs are meant to really represent something, they're just to fill out the film. I believe in personal interpretations, but the story's more subtle and important than simply connecting obscure references, something that cannot sustain meaning in any film.

This movie's about a writer, an arrogant playwright who lives for his art. Its point isn't easily articulated, but here's a plot description, what Barton Fink is to me, and what I think it was basically intended to be:

Fink decides to write movies when offered a contract after his successful play. He goes to impersonal Hollywood. He stays at the hotel Earle, meets Charlie Meadows -- a lonely guy living there, and Barton, though condescending towards him, depends on his companionship. Barton, while holding himself up as an artist for the common man, dismisses other writers for cutting themselves off from common people, indulging in pretentiousness, yet he's guilty of doing similarly, ignoring Charlie's stories of everyday life and insurance salesman work. It's so hot, especially when Charlie is around, Barton's wallpaper peels, oozing a vague substance down the walls; Charlie's ear oozes due to an ear infection; Charlie can hear most everything that goes on through the pipes. The hotel itself becomes like Poe's House of Usher, the characters suffering loneliness as their environment reacts accordingly.

Barton can't start his writing: a two-dimensional wrestling picture. (Lipnick, the producer, likes Fink's work. ...Maybe a little fruity...). Barton, needing help, meets Bill Mayhew, a lonely writer who drinks for escape from his personal pain, while his live-in "secretary," Audrey, does his writing. Audrey helps them both, giving unconditional understanding, and sleeps with Barton one night. When Barton awakes (Maltin's review stinks) he finds Audrey dead and bloody. Flabbergasted, he enlists Charlie's help. Charlie convinces him not to call the police and volunteers to clean up the matter. Then Charlie leaves awhile -- business-related matters ("all balled up at the head office"), and abandons Barton, grief-stricken and crying alone. Before he goes Charlie asks Barton to keep a box of his personal belongings, so they're safe. Charlie looks at the approximately head-sized rectangular box, saying it's pathetic that everything that's important to a man, all a man wants to keep for an entire lifetime, and he can fit it in a little box like that. "It's more than I've got," Barton says in self-pity.

Charlie gone, Barton is confronted by detectives who are looking for Charlie (a suspected murderer who chops the heads off of people after ventilating them with a shotgun). Barton says he hasn't noticed anything suspicious.

Barton, inspired by Charlie, types a script. To celebrate, he goes out to dance and gets into a fight with a sailor who wants to spin his dame. In a display of ego Barton screams in the sailor's face that he has just created something great and that, pointing to his head, "This is my uniform! This is how I serve the common man!" and is punched. A fight erupts amongst the always-wily armed services.

Arriving at his room he's met by the detectives who find Barton's bloodstained mattress and script, them accusing Barton of being in cahoots with Mundt. Charlie's back; it's hot. He screams about the life of the mind and murders the detectives. The hallways burn around Charlie, the wallpaper peeling off from heat. He admonishes Barton for having the gull to claim he understands pain, explaining that his own life is lived in lonesome sorrow in the hotel, a temporary lodging in Barton's life. Charlie claims he doesn't murder (Audrey, Bill Mayhew, his other "policy holders") because he's mad at people, but because he understands their pain and wants to help. He just wishes that someone would do as much for him.

Barton leaves Charlie to reenter his room alone.

Lipnick hates Fink's "fruity" script about suffering (it's a wrestling picture!). Barton claims he tried doing something beautiful, for everyone to relate, when Lipnick yells: "You swell-headed hypocrites... You think the whole world revolves around what rattles inside that little kike head of yours." He says he won't make the movie; everyone's disappointed. But Fink's under contract. Anything Barton writes is property of Capitol pictures, and Capitol pictures isn't going to produce anything Barton writes. And as Lou Breeze, Lipnick's loyal assistant, says to Barton earlier, the contents of Fink's head are the property of Capitol Pictures.

So Fink walks along the beach, his entire world and philosophy turned inside-out. When asked by a beautiful girl in a bathing suit what's in the box (Charlie's box) he has sitting next to him on the sand, he says "I don't know." When she asks if it's his, he responds, "I don't know."

So it's not important to find out at the end in a big revealing moment what is in the box or what the exact contents are because it's a symbol. There may be underlying motifs but are not the "point." Ebert and Maltin make it too complicated or simple, obviously not feeling any of this movie, its intense depth not coming from innumerate obscurities and a sum whole of its parts, but from moments of truth, beauty and simple metaphors. When viewed openly and in a relaxed manner without grasping for literal interpretations through a complicated connect-the-dots pattern, this film can be endlessly pondered and appreciated.

..."Are you in pictures?" Barton asks her.

"Don't be silly," she smiles, then turns to look at the ocean's waves.

And it's not necessarily significant that the beautiful girl sits in the exact position as the girl on the beach in the painted picture in Barton's hotel room. It's simply the best, most hilarious ending of any movie.