Joel and Ethan Coen wrote Barton Fink (1991) during a difficult time in the writing process of Miller’s Crossing (1990). They took a break and wrote Barton Fink in just three weeks.
The Story
Barton Fink (played by John Tuturro) is a successful playwright who is approached by Hollywood to write a wrestling picture. At first Barton is reluctant to relocate to Hollywood, as he fears it may separate him from ‘the common man’, whom he proudly regards as the source and reason of his creative outlet.
Barton accepts Hollywood’s high-priced proposal, and checks in to L.A.’s Hotel Earle to write. Then Barton suffers from writer's block and struggles to produce what is asked of him, and so he enters a world of travails and personal hell, meeting some strange and weirdly-wonderful characters.
John Goodman and the Hotel Earle
John Goodman plays Charlie Meadows, Barton’s hotel neighbour. Charlie is a charismatic insurance salesman, and a confidante and source of inspiration to Barton Fink. Barton comes alive with passion when conversing with Charlie, who is in return supportive of Barton, and provides comfort, as the Hotel Earle, like much of the film, has a hellish, desolate, and soul-shaking atmosphere. Indeed, the Coens were successful in their deliberate approach to make the Hotel Earle much like the hotel from hell, or ‘Motel Hell,’ as they referred to a strange hotel they once found (one that probably inspired the later depiction in Barton Fink).
The Hotel Earle is one of the strongest, most disturbing elements of Barton Fink. It is eerie and unsettling, and it’s overall dark and depressing atmosphere is adequate housing, symbolically speaking, for Barton Fink, who is suffering from life-affirming lows and struggles linked with the creative process, 'The life of the mind', as it's referred to in the film. The Hotel Earle and the mind of Barton Fink are one and the same – cold, lonely, unsure, messy, and unpredictable.
Clearly some effort was made for the physical setting of the Hotel Earle, for the successful conveyance of its hellish nature. These effects are, at times, subtle, yet powerful in their delivery, even if sometimes only noticeable for being ‘odd’. A good example is the hallway corridor of the Hotel Earle, which is a bit too symmetrical with its lines of shapes and lights, and so, along with other factors, like the shoes of the unseen guests outside every door - eerie, presents itself as the separate entity that is Barton's hell!
Trans-Genre
The dialogue in Barton Fink is as crisp and witty and idiosynchratic as in any Coen brothers film.
It is hard to categorize Barton Fink into one genre, and that is a good thing for any film, as it penetrates and transcends multiple fields.
However, there are solid elements of Barton Fink. The film is hilarious, usually in a sinister fashion. Watching the characters fight through this world they have little control over is enjoyable, and admittedly a recurring Coen brothers skill. They are of course the masters of dark comedy (sometimes pushing it to the boundaries of acceptable and comfortable, like in 1996’s Fargo).
The Creative Process, Writer’s Block
An important component of Barton Fink is its themes and ideas surrounding the creative process, in this case of a writer.
Barton is torn between his love of creating art with meaning, about and for ‘the common man’, as he regularly puts it, and the demands of the Hollywood studio, who are expecting a formulaic bestseller. This is a major conflict for Barton, who suffers from writer’s block as a result (again, the Coens wrote Barton Fink while experiencing difficulty during the writing of Miller’s Crossing).
Barton Fink has also been referred to as a Kunstlerroman – a story depicting a person’s artistic growth. Certainly, Barton takes an incredible journey and must come to terms with many harsh ‘realities’ before the film is through.
And, as the film literally suggests, writing can be hell.
Surreal Imagery and Symbolism
Barton Fink has a very surreal feel to it. It often cuts back and forth between objective reality and the characters’ subjective take on events. This effect is used greatly later in the film, resulting in much speculation and discussions about 'the picture'.
Some have suggested this final scene with the girl on the beach - 'the picture' - was Barton's personal hell. The opposite could be true. During his painful struggle at the Hotel Earle, Barton would occassionally look up at 'the picture'. It would console him, and give a glimmer of hope, while he was 'in hell'. It was a promise, so when he finds himself on this beautiful beach with this beautiful woman, this could be his reward for fighting through those struggles and remaining true to himself (the producers hate his script, but to Barton, it's the greatest thing he's ever done).
What 'the picture' really does is create uncertainty. What is real and what is not? Joel Coen has pointed out the absurdity of discussing the 'reality' of a 'fictional character'. And so, everything is relative. There are generally differents opinions on whether Barton was at a happy place at the end of the film, or a bad one. If it was something negative, the scene becomes much more disturbing. The answer to 'what is inside the box?' is only hinted to be 'Audry's severed head'. As much as that is the natural assumption initially, it is never revealed as the solid truth. What is tangible is the box's status as a souvenier of Barton's time with Charlie...
However the full meaning is interpreted, Barton Fink is a special film that gets better with repeat viewings.
A Classic Coen Brothers Film
Barton Fink is an intelligent, funny, and powerful story, with dark elements of multiple genres, and layers of various meanings, symbols, and representations. It is a strange film, not one to forget in a hurry, but pleasing, as much as it is unnerving. It stands alone as an example of great film-making, and is certainly one of the finer offerings from the Coen brothers.
Ferdi Mehmet - I work in journalism, performing writer/research roles for newspapers in the London area. My real passion is for writing fiction - novels, ...
