Review of Barton Fink (1991) by John M — 14 Jul 2011
Barton Fink goes to Hollywood. Since my previous review of this was three sentences long, I figured I should go back and expand upon it by rewatching it. Barton Fink (John Turturro) is a successful playwright in the 1940s.
A Hollywood shark (Michael Lerner) discovers him and gets him to come out to Hollywood to write a wrestling picture. He stays in a dump of a hotel, not wanting to lose touch with "the common man".
He struggles getting started with these less than desirable conditions and loud neighbors (John Goodman)... Just like all of the Coen's films, there is a lot going on here. Such attention is paid to fine detail, it's just a pleasure to watch.
Goodman and Turturro are a couple of the most underrated actors out there, and they both turn in fine performances, Goodman as the simple, yet mysterious, common man, and Turturro as the mouth-breathing, uncomfortable writer.
A lot of it is interpretive, but it is always thought provoking and a very deep film with a number of levels.
This review of Barton Fink (1991) was written by John M on 14 Jul 2011.
Barton Fink has generally received very positive reviews.
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