Quote of the Week Review: Barton Fink (1991)

By Thomas Broome-Jones

"You think I made your life hell? Take a look around this dump. You're just a tourist with a typewriter, Barton, I live here"

For my money, this is the finest film that the Coen Brothers have ever produced. Their catalogue is a rich library of lovingly-crafted masterpieces, each one different from the last. Most people are familiar with films such as The Big Lebowski, Fargo or No Country for Old Men, but Barton Fink is especially intriguing as it's one big puzzle box.

Barton Fink isn't quite "surrealist", per se, but it is impossible to place in any genre, there are elements of comedy, drama, farce, satire, thriller and romance. The Coens have agreed with critics that classifying it is hard, it simply is what it is.

The plot concerns the eponymous Barton Fink, an acclaimed New York playwright who has been hired to pen a wrestling screenplay. Upon arriving at his ominous L.A. hotel, Barton suffers from writer's block and encounters his burly neighbour, Charles, played by the infallibly lovable John Goodman, a frequent collaborator of the Coens.

Nobody f**ks with The Jesus.

The chain of circumstance that follows takes you on a wicked mind-bending trip through the corruption and greed that encumbers The City of Angels, as Barton begins to learn that he's surrounded by liars, cheats and phonies. John Turturro is simply astounding as Barton, a truly underrated actor who was snubbed by the Academy not only for his performance in this, but Do the Right Thing and The Big Lebowski also. His performance is subtly comprised of various ticks and delusions of grandeur that create a man who thinks highly of himself but wants to help others, leading to an internal conflict that he must confront and overcome.
The enigmatic visual motifs throughout the film add varying layers to the plot and themes, creating a complex and thought-provoking piece of cinema that challenges as well as entertains. The ultimate theme of the film is illustrated best in the heated finale, the yin and yang of creation and destruction meeting in a mutual respect for one another. I won't say anymore as I don't want to spoil the ending.

The minimalist approach as well as deliberate lack of real character development is signature Coens. The plot's interest comes from how the characters interact with their situation, for some filmmakers this would be a huge risk as it requires pitch-perfect casting, but the Coen Brothers always make sure every actor is perfectly suited for their role.

Roger Deakins, one of the greatest cinematographers of all-time and the Coens' regular DOP, uses the camera to make everywhere Barton is feel like a maze. The hotel is especially reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick's horror monolith The Shining, something that Joel and Ethan Coen have openly recognized as an influence. The way the camera wraps around every wall, as if it knows to be cautious when the characters do not, creates an uneasy feeling among the audience as the characters remain calm in clearly dangerous situations.

A fascinating portrait of humanity and a scathing critique of Hollywood's desolate landscape of broken dreams, as well as the extremes between wealth and poverty. This is a crowning achievement in the library of the Coen Brothers, backed up with a blissful supporting cast, consisting of talents such as Micheal Lerner, John Mahoney and Steve Buscemi, this is one that all of their fans must see. 

Thomas Broome-Jones is on Twitter, you can follow him @TBroomey.