Post by jrod on Jan 19, 2006 7:25:07 GMT
Barton Fink
Director: Joel Coen
1991 USA
An intellectual playwright moves to Hollywood to write for pictures, and meets a traveling insurance salesman living next door
(spoilers)
Barton Fink is perhaps the most overlooked Coen brothers film, which is quite a shame, since it is among their finest. John Turturro plays Barton Fink, who has come to Hollywood to write movies. He moves into the Hotel Earle where he meets Charlie Meadows (John Goodman). These two veterans of Coen films share most of the great scenes in the movie.
“Between Heaven and Hell There’s Always Hollywood!” is the films tagline. I would propose however, that Fink is never “between” heaven and hell in this film. Hell to a writer is writer’s block, and the entire time Fink stays in the Hotel Earle, he has a severe case of it. From this, one can paint the conclusion that the Hotel Earle actually is hell, and throughout the film, we see that Meadows is the ruler of it. Meadows comes to Fink as a friend, and later in the film comes to Fink as the devil, literally surrounded by a hallway of flames and dead corpses. Steve Buscemi, perhaps the most impish looking actor around, is well-cast as the caretaker of the hotel.
Fink struggles most of the film to write something that meets his standards. Critics loved his plays, but he was not satisfied. He is given the responsibility to write a popcorn fluff movie about wrestling to entertain fans, and cannot bring himself to write it. These factors contribute to the writers block, which keeps him in Hell. Near the films ending he finally writes something that he is happy with (and given his standards for himself, I assume this is Shakespeare-good), and even though it is turned down by his bosses, Fink emerges from his swirl of depression and confusion. The final scene shows him on a beach with a beautiful woman. This setting represents heaven (we have seen it in a picture frame that acts like a window from Fink’s hotel room).
The Coen brothers have an excellent list of movies to their credit, and Barton Fink is among the best of them, along with Miller’s Crossing and Fargo.
CREDITS
Director
Joel Coen
Producer
Ben Barenholtz
Ethan Coen
Bill Durkin
Jim Pedas
Ted Pedas
Graham Place
Screenplay
Joel Coen
Ethan Coen
Cinematography
Roger Deakins
CAST
John Turturro
Barton Fink
John Goodman
Charlie Meadows
Judy Davis
Audrey Taylor
Matthew Lerner
Jack Lipnick
Director: Joel Coen
1991 USA
An intellectual playwright moves to Hollywood to write for pictures, and meets a traveling insurance salesman living next door
(spoilers)
Barton Fink is perhaps the most overlooked Coen brothers film, which is quite a shame, since it is among their finest. John Turturro plays Barton Fink, who has come to Hollywood to write movies. He moves into the Hotel Earle where he meets Charlie Meadows (John Goodman). These two veterans of Coen films share most of the great scenes in the movie.
“Between Heaven and Hell There’s Always Hollywood!” is the films tagline. I would propose however, that Fink is never “between” heaven and hell in this film. Hell to a writer is writer’s block, and the entire time Fink stays in the Hotel Earle, he has a severe case of it. From this, one can paint the conclusion that the Hotel Earle actually is hell, and throughout the film, we see that Meadows is the ruler of it. Meadows comes to Fink as a friend, and later in the film comes to Fink as the devil, literally surrounded by a hallway of flames and dead corpses. Steve Buscemi, perhaps the most impish looking actor around, is well-cast as the caretaker of the hotel.
Fink struggles most of the film to write something that meets his standards. Critics loved his plays, but he was not satisfied. He is given the responsibility to write a popcorn fluff movie about wrestling to entertain fans, and cannot bring himself to write it. These factors contribute to the writers block, which keeps him in Hell. Near the films ending he finally writes something that he is happy with (and given his standards for himself, I assume this is Shakespeare-good), and even though it is turned down by his bosses, Fink emerges from his swirl of depression and confusion. The final scene shows him on a beach with a beautiful woman. This setting represents heaven (we have seen it in a picture frame that acts like a window from Fink’s hotel room).
The Coen brothers have an excellent list of movies to their credit, and Barton Fink is among the best of them, along with Miller’s Crossing and Fargo.
CREDITS
Director
Joel Coen
Producer
Ben Barenholtz
Ethan Coen
Bill Durkin
Jim Pedas
Ted Pedas
Graham Place
Screenplay
Joel Coen
Ethan Coen
Cinematography
Roger Deakins
CAST
John Turturro
Barton Fink
John Goodman
Charlie Meadows
Judy Davis
Audrey Taylor
Matthew Lerner
Jack Lipnick