Barton Fink (Joel Coen, 1991)

Looking back at the Coens' film collection as a whole, one would have to say that each picture is a homage to a popular genre in Hollywood. In particular the Hollywood genres during the classic decades for film such as the 1950s and 60s. The Coens have strived, and successfully for the most part, to bring back the spirits of those films and the occasionally masterful way they were presented on screen by hall of fame directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford and Orson Welles. So it came as no surprise when they chose 'Barton Fink' as their chance to satirise life within Hollywood and specifically the turbulent life of a budding screenwriter, a topic in which they are surely well-versed. John Turturro, possibly the best Coens' actor of all, takes on the difficult title role as the wide-eyed New York writer who soon finds that "between Heaven and Hell there is Hollywood" as his dream coast to coast move gradually becomes a nightmare in which he is fighting for his sanity, his career and his life. In true David Lynch style, we are taken through the labyrinth of personalities which Barton encounters and whilst we, the audience, attempt to unravel them we still have to negotiate the mind-bending script with its blink and you'll miss it punchlines. The film is puzzling but well worth sticking it with, probably requiring a repeat viewing in order to be fully digested. John Goodman pops up in another larger-than-life role, this time as Barton's seemingly friendly neighbour. Little is what it appears to be in this cutthroat drama set in the murky yet desirable world of American film. Features some of the Coens’ finest cinematography.