Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Barton Fink (1991)

4 / 5
Tagline:  There's only one thing stranger than what's going on inside his head. What's going on outside.
Directed by:  Joel Coen
Written by:  Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Actors include:  John Goodman, John Turturro, Judy Davis
Genre:  Black Comedy, Thriller, Mystery
Length:  116 minutes
Banned:  Nope







Review:
This is really strange, even for a Coen brothers flick but I liked it.  John Turturro plays Barton Fink, a weird playright who has major writer's block while trying to come up with a script for a wrestling film.  He's staying in a gross seedy hotel in New York while trying to write and he becomes fast friends with next door neighbor Charlie Meadows (John Goodman) who is splendid in this).  Barton ends up continually distracted and soon finds himself in some serious trouble when a girl he beds (who is the girlfriend of another writer) ends up dead next to him one morning.  Soon the cops are buzzing around, Charlie seems to be more helpful than one might think and the pressure is on to deliver one heck of a script.  The first half plays very much like a surreal comedy, and the second half is a blackly comedic thriller I suppose but it's all very interesting and unpredictable.  It's just unlike most films I've seen which I really liked and although it sort of left me a little unsatisfied at the end but at the same time I really did enjoy everything laid out before me.  I laughed, it had a few tense moments and it's surprising.  Not their finest but definitely a must for the fans of strange comedies and Coen devotees.
Availability:  On DVD

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