Barton Fink

**Barton Fink** is a 1991 American independent period psychological thriller film written, produced, edited & directed by the Coen brothers.

The film first premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 1991 and was released theatrically by 20th Century Fox on August 21, 1991.

## Plot

Set in 1941, Barton Fink (John Turturro), a renowned New York playwright is enticed to California to write for the movies and discovers the hellish truth of Hollywood.

## Cast

* John Turturro as Barton Fink
* John Goodman as Charlie Meadows
* Michael Lerner as Jack Lipnick
* Judy Davis as Audrey Taylor
* John Mahoney as W. P. Mayhew
* Tony Shalhoub as Ben Geisler
* Jon Polito as Lou Breeze
* Steve Buscemi as Chet
* David Warrilow as Garland Stanford
* Richard Portnow as Detective Mastrionotti
* Christopher Murney as Detective Deutsch

## Production

### Background and writing

In 1989, film-makers Joel and Ethan Coen began writing the script for "Barton Fink" (which was eventually released as "Miller's Crossing"). The many threads of the story became complicated, and after four months they found themselves lost in the process. Although biographers and critics later referred to it as writer's block, the Coen brothers rejected this description.

According to Joel in a 1991 interview: "*It's not really the case that we were suffering from writer's block, but our working speed had slowed, and we were eager to get a certain distance from Miller's Crossing."*

The Coens went from Los Angeles to New York and began work on a different project. In three weeks, they wrote a script with a title role written specifically for actor John Turturro (with whom they'd been working on "Miller's Crossing").

The new film, "Barton Fink" was set in a large, seemingly abandoned hotel; this setting (which they named the Hotel Earle) was a driving force behind the story and mood of the new project.

While filming their 1984 film, "Blood Simple" in Austin, Texas, the Coens had seen a hotel which made a significant impression: "We thought, 'Wow, Motel Hell.' You know, being condemned to live in the weirdest hotel in the world."

The writing process for "Barton Fink was smooth," suggesting that the relief of being away from Miller's Crossing may have been a catalyst. The Coens also felt satisfied with the overall shape of the story (which helped them move quickly through the composition). "Certain films come entirely in one's head; we just sort of burped out Barton Fink."

While writing, they created a second leading role with another actor in mind: John Goodman (who had appeared in their 1987 comedy, "Raising Arizona") His new character, Charlie, was Barton's next-door neighbor in the cavernous hotel.

Even before writing, the Coens knew how the story would end and wrote Charlie's final speech at the start of the writing process. The script served its diversionary purpose, and the Coens put it aside: *"Barton Fink sort of washed out our brain and we were able to go back and finish Miller's Crossing."*

Once production of the first film was finished, the Coens began to recruit staff to film Barton Fink. John Turturro looked forward to playing the lead role, and spent a month with the Coens in Los Angeles to coordinate views on the project: *"I felt I could bring something more human to Barton. Joel and Ethan allowed me a certain contribution. I tried to go a little further than they expected."*

As they designed detailed storyboards for "Barton Fink", the Coens began looking for a new cinematographer since their associate Barry Sonnenfeld (who had filmed their first three films) was occupied with his own directorial debut, "The Addams Family".

The Coens had been impressed with the work of English cinematographer Roger Deakins (particularly the interior scenes of the 1988 film, "Stormy Monday"). After screening other films Deakins had worked on (including "Sid and Nancy" and "Pascali's Island"), they sent a script to him and invited him to join the project. Deakins' agent advised against working with the Coens, but Deakins met with them at a café in Notting Hill and they soon began working together on the film.

### Filming

Filming for "Barton Fink" began in June 1990 and lasted for eight weeks (a third less time than required by "Miller's Crossing") and the estimated final budget for the film was US$9 million.

The Coens worked well with Deakins, and they easily translated their ideas for each scene onto film. *"There was only one moment we surprised him,"* Joel Coen recalled later.

An extended scene called for a tracking shot out of the bedroom and into a sink drain "plug hole" in the adjacent bathroom as a symbol of sexual intercourse.

According to Joel: *"The shot was a lot of fun and we had a great time working out how to do it. After that, every time we asked Roger to do something difficult, he would raise an eyebrow and say, 'Don't be having me track down any plug-holes now.'"*

Three weeks of filming were spent in the Hotel Earle, a set created by art director Dennis Gassner.

The film's climax required a huge spreading fire in the hotel's hallway, (which the Coens originally planned to add digitally in post-production); however, when they decided to use real flames, the crew built a large alternative set in an abandoned aircraft hangar at Long Beach.

A series of gas jets were installed behind the hallway, and the wallpaper was perforated for easy penetration. As John Goodman ran through the hallway, a man on an overhead catwalk opened each jet, giving the impression of a fire racing ahead of Charlie. Each take required a rebuild of the apparatus, and a second hallway (sans fire) stood ready nearby for filming pick-up shots between takes.

The final scene was shot near Zuma Beach, as was the image of a wave crashing against a rock.

The Coens edited the film themselves, as is their custom. Joel explained in 1996: *"We prefer a hands-on approach, rather than sitting next to someone and telling them what to cut."*

Because of rules for membership in film production guilds, they are required to use a pseudonym; "Roderick Jaynes" is credited with editing the film.

Only a few filmed scenes were removed from the final cut including a transition scene to show Barton's movement from New York to Hollywood. (In the film, this is shown enigmatically with a wave crashing against a rock.)

Several scenes representing work in Hollywood studios were also filmed, but edited out because they were "too conventional.'

## Box Office

On August 23, 1991, "Barton Fink" opened in the United States on 11 screens, earning $268,561 during its opening weekend.

During its theatrical release, the film grossed $6,153,939 in the United States.

## Critical Reception

"Barton Fink" received positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 90% "Certified Fresh" rating based on 60 reviews with an average rating of 7.8\10.

The site's consensus reads: *"Twisty and unsettling, the Coen brothers' satirical tale of a 1940s playwright struggling with writer's block is packed with their trademark sense of humor and terrific performances from its cast."*

On Metacritic, the film has a score of 69 out of 100 based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."

Rita Kempley of the Washington Post described "Barton Fink" as *"certainly one of the year's best and most intriguing films".*

The New York Times critic Vincent Canby called it *"an unqualified winner"* and *"a fine dark comedy of flamboyant style and immense though seemingly effortless technique".*

Critic Jim Emerson called it *"the Coen brothers' most deliciously, provocatively indescribable picture yet".*

Some critics disliked the abstruse plot and deliberately enigmatic ending.

Chicago Reader critic Jonathan Rosenbaum warned of the Coens' *"adolescent smarminess and comic-book cynicism" and* described the film as *"a midnight-movie gross-out in Sunday-afternoon art-house clothing".*

In a 1994 interview, Joel dismissed criticism of unclear elements in their films: *"People have a problem dealing with the fact that our movies are not straight-ahead. They would prefer that the last half of Barton Fink just be about a screenwriter's writing-block problems and how they get resolved in the real world".*

Talk show host Larry King expressed approval of "Barton Fink", despite its uncertain conclusion. He wrote in USA Today: *"The ending is something I'm still thinking about and if they accomplished that, I guess it worked."*

In a 2016 interview, screenwriter Charlie Kaufman said after being asked which film he would want with him on a deserted island: *"A movie I really love is Barton Fink. I don't know if that’s the movie I'd take to a desert island, but I feel like there's so much in there, you could watch it again and again. That's important to me, especially if that was the only movie I'd have with me for the rest of my life."*

"Barton Fink" was ranked by Greg Cwik of IndieWire as the Coens' fifth best film. It was voted the 11th best film of the 1990s in a poll of The A.V. Club contributors, and was described as *"one of [the Coens'] most profound, and painful"* works.