Barton Fink

The Coen brothers are a mystery I'll never fully figure out. Their films are weird in every sense of the word, and you can’t deny that. But what always gets me is that I never know what to expect from them, and each time they manage to surprise me in a new way. With Barton Fink — one of their earlier works — I thought I had it figured out. The film starts off with two strange characters, and as it unfolds, I began to feel like something was off. As I started to lose interest, I pegged it as one of their weaker films. But then, out of nowhere, the movie throws you a wild, brutal ending, and suddenly, I’m back on board. Just when I thought the film might fade into forgetfulness, it pulls me right back in. Honestly, if you stick with it, Barton Fink will reward you in the end. It turned out to be one of the best Coen brothers films I’ve seen, and halfway through, I never thought I’d be saying that. (31.01.2011)

My fifth experience with the Coen brothers turned out rather average for me. The film did manage to captivate me very quickly and I quickly grew fond of the cantankerous Barton and even more so of Charles played by John Goodman. However, what disappointed me about this film was probably its flatness and superficiality in terms of the storyline. While there was a certain twist towards the end, I was expecting a bit more throughout the entire runtime, which never came, and in the end, I was disappointed that the plot didn't have much room to expand and shock me more. Nevertheless, I must appreciate the Coen brothers' style out of duty alone, especially due to the absurd situations they handle excellently alongside dialogues, the gloomy atmosphere into which they managed to insert a few almost surreal shots, which briefly evoked David Lynch's features in me. However, I would have welcomed a bit more black humor here, as I'm used to it from the Coen brothers. Generally, in my opinion, Barton Fink actually differs quite a bit from the other Coen works, mainly in terms of the storytelling pace. We're usually accustomed to a barrage of events from them, whereas in this case, they tuned into a completely different, skeptically flowing "noir" wave. (07.12.2018)

A symbolic wrestling of empty narrative with expressive style, which in sum tells us nothing much and remains only a methodical contemplation of the unbearable lightness of creative (in)being. Precise performances (another iconic supporting role for John Goodman), visually really imaginative and at times almost Kafkaesque atmospheric, but insanely drawn out in the first half, providing no clues to get into the main character's strange story with sincere interest and sober attention. While I admire the Coen brothers' poetics of expression, Barton Fink is an unusually forgettable film by their standards, though the last twenty minutes, on the other hand, constitute their immortal magnum opus. I’ll gladly watch it again some day; for the time being, strong 3*. (07.03.2017)