Review of Barton Fink (1991) by Jose Luis M — 07 Jan 2015

The Coen brothers are two of my all time favorite directors. Their films range from comedies, crime thrillers, to westerns. They are fantastic writers and directors. "Barton Fink'' is an older Coen brother film, and it's just as impressive as anything they've ever made. The film stars John Turturro, John Goodman, Judy Davis, Michael Lerner, Jon Polito, and Steve Buscemi.

Barton Fink (Turturro) is a writer living in New York City. He is a play write who has just received lots of praise for his new play. An offer comes to him to come down to Los Angelis to write for a film making company. While experiencing writers block, Fink receives a knock at his apartment door. Behind it stands his new neighbor, Charlie Meadows (Goodman), a salesman. The two of them hit it off pretty well. Fink is the upstate writer with lots of awards and praise, Charlie is the average every man who lives simply. As Barton struggles to write his script, Charlie keeps paying him visits. They sit and talk about their lives. Unknown to Barton is a terrible shocking truth.

John Turturro and John Goodman are perfect in this film. The two of them have this chemistry that just lights you on fire. Their scenes together are priceless fun. That being said, the performances in this are all fantastic. The characters are quirky and very well written, as all Coen characters are. The film is wonderfully shot by Rodger Deakins. Each shot is inventive and looks good. The film is full to the brim of great clever humor, given to us by our leads. There's nothing I didn't like about this movie. It's perfect.

"Barton Fink'' is a bizarrely fantastic Coen brothers film. It's one of their best. The characters are great, the writing is phenomenal, the cinematography is sharp, the acting is superb, and it has an interesting ending. The film is driven by Goodman and Turturro's brilliant chemistry and performances, and also driven by masterful direction from Joel and Ethan Coen.