BARTON FINK

BARTON FINK – 1991
Directed by – Joel Coen

If you’ve ever seen a Coen Brothers’ film (Joel usually directs and Ethan produces), the one thing that really sticks out is…well, everything. The Coen brothers own their films, providing a unique artistic and aesthetic vision that permeates every aspect of each film. It’s hard to describe, but it might be best to say that everything purposefully seems a little bit off-kilter – not so much to destabilize the film, but just enough to let you know that you are in foreign territory. It should also be mentioned that each film is incredibly different; never repeating the same setting, time period or dialect, they cover everything from violent Irish gangster films, the excellent Miller’s Crossing, to Raising Arizona (one of my favorites) – a comedic take on kid-napping set in the South-West, to a surreal, quasi-retelling of The Odyssey that takes place in the deep-south called O’Brother Where Art Thou (the same title as the fictitious story on human suffering featured in Preston Sturgess’s 1941 Sullivan’s Travels – these guys know their film history). They’ve also targeted the Mid-West, Texas, and the Northeast, tackled the romantic comedy and made a gritty film-noir. And, then there’s Barton Fink, which doesn’t fall as neatly into an established category. One thing we can say for sure is that Barton is a writer who is engaged (or mired) in the creative process – so let’s just say this one is about intention and creation. After all, a fairly universal question is what’s more important? What you make? -or- How you make it? As far as the setting goes, the Coen brothers key in on two cities, New York and Los Angeles. Notice how the cities are used – the “integrity” line is drawn once again between the two (think Annie Hall or every Woody Allen film ever made). But, L.A. is more or less needed to get us to the real icon of the fake and disingenuous: Hollywood.

The Coen brothers are infamous for detail; the problem is, just like Hitchcock, you have a lot of detail and not all of it is helpful. As a viewer, you are required to be active; you can’t just sit back and soak in the explosions and hot chicks in bikinis. This is a film you definitely need to take notes on because the patterns and symbolism often don’t make sense until later (if they ever do – watch out for red herrings). To be honest, Barton Fink is a film that provides more questions than answers, so don’t expect to understand everything. But, I am interested in what you do understand. What is your take on Barton? Are you sympathetic? Is he missing something? If so, what? What are you missing? What do you need to know? How does the film address the issue of authenticity and the creative process? And, using Barton as an example, what’s more important? What you make? -or- How you make it? Also, describe, in detail, two scenes you felt were shot or edited well and why.

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