Rating of
3/4
To Ponder the Creative Process
Unknown - wrote on 06/16/14
This Coens piece is easily their most unique. It's another film that focuses on a central character, examining them through whatever dilemma they have while throwing in some eccentric supporting characters for entertaining distraction. The difference with this picture is that it's all about writing pictures. I've seen a couple of films covering the same subject, but none were as unexplainable as this. The film starts off mundane and becomes increasingly less so in a gradual way. MUCH less so. This story does not follow a typical three act structure, nor does it have a definite ending. It's a strong, bold, but also cold statement that leaves you thinking. There's much to decipher in the undertone; metaphors, visual cues, odd choices of humor, and the dialogue containing double meanings. It all culminates in a central theme of the writers passion for the craft and the dissent of having to force it for work. The rest of 'Barton Fink' is best left up to the viewer's own personal interpretation.
