Review of Barton Fink (1991) by John E — 23 Jun 2011

Barton Fink is a film of astonishing complexity. It is richly imbued with enough layers of subtexts, metaphor, meta-reference and symbolism to rival that of many novels. The hotel is the most meticulously riddled with details; as Barton's base of operations for most of the movie, the great amount of time spent there greatly lends itself to interpretation and analysis.

The film is a descent into the kookiness of the artist's mind, delving further and further into surrealism and leaving us wondering just how much of the film actually transpired in the way it is shown to us.

The narrative arc modifies and backhandedly pays tribute to the many storied personalities of 1940s Hollywood, which ultimately attests to the power of the author to shape and modify a story using previously utilized narrative conventions, characters and events.

At some point in the movie, the fabula and sjuzet reach a crossroads and take off in separate directions which only further baffles and intrigues us as we wait to see what additional facet of narrative Hell (typically in the guise of the ironic coincidence) is unleashed on unwitting Barton.

The many complexities, playful transmogrification of various plot and historical elements make this film the Coen Brothers' most postmodern movie; that's saying something based on their track record of twisting generic conventions.

The actors all do a bang-up job staying true to their characters and embracing the lunacy around them. Barton Fink is a film that can only be labeled bizarre; discrete in its familiarity and genius in its commentary on the essence of fiction and narrative.