Review of Barton Fink (1991) by Anna L — 15 Nov 2011

You can't deny the Coen brother or mid 90's John Turturro, as they combine for a slick, character-driven, paranoid tale which unashamedly takes digs at Hollywood and the writing industry.

Visually a pre-cursor for Miller's Crossing (my favourite Coen Bro's film) the film fills itself with regular collaborators of the brothers' Coen. The entire cast is brilliant with Turturro reminding everybody what he was capable of back then, rather than being reduced to the Transformers series of films today.His character's arrogance, pretentiousness and stout stubbornness prove to be his downfall amongst a crazy neighbour; played with a chilling quietness by John Goodman, a drunken peer and a studio mogul from hell.

The paranoid tale is great, although at times it overreaches itself with it's ambition. Certain scenes don't sit well it jumps into the unbelievable or over the top. The real gem is the attack on the writing industry which is played out brilliantly in the conflict between Turturro, Polito and Oscar nominated Michael Lerner.

What else do you expect from real masters of their craft? f you like the Coen or John Turturro then see this film.