Barton Fink(1991)- User Reviews

I know that many people would chose The Big Leblowski, Fargo or No Coutnry for Old Men as there favourite Coen Brothers movie, but to me, Barton Fink is diffinetly the one for me. While the others that I mentioned are very good in there own right, Barton Fink is a unmissable, unforgettable masterpiece that is original and funny as it is dark and disturbing. For anyone who can recall it's release in 1991, Barton Fink was the first movie to sweep the Cannes Film Festival of all of it's main awards, which got it plenty of attention. Now, Barton Fink, look other Coen Brothers movies, is not a movie for everyone. It's complicated, at times rather bizzare and quiet frankly surreal, but that it not a insult at all. In fact, I encourage surreality. Now on to it. First off, Barton Fink has a script like no other. It is a breathtakingly original take on the moviemaking and screenwriting business, and as Barton meets more and more unsavory characters in the business, including his emotionally disturbed roomate, his mental stabillity deteriorates raapidly as well. This said, the flow of the story is fantastic and works almost perfectly. But, again, many people may disagree with me on he pace of the story overall, since it is often slow, talky and thoroughly visual reliant, just how I like it. I like my movies interesting, careful and intelligent. Another fantastic thing about it is it's almost flawless acting, which is
a absolute shocker to me that it didn't even get nominated for any acting Academy Awards. Of course, John Tuturro and John Goodman are especially fantastic, is it get's behind the emotionally disturbed psyche of both of these characters, and what is so disturbing about John Goodmans performance is that up utnil the ending,
he has been a fairly likeable character, which makes his reveal even more spectacular. And finally, we are at the look of the movie, which couldn't praise more: Every single shot of the movie looks glorious. Sometimes it's happy and colorfull, but most of the time it is dark, depressing and perfectly fit into the 1940's setting. I know that it was nominated for best Art\Set direction, but seriously, it should have won. Finally, even if you have never heard of this movie, if you like art house movies that you can watch again and again, watch it. It is most certainly one of the best Coen Brothers movies ever made.