Welcome to Hell-ywood
It is fair to say that the Coen brothers are unusual but good directors who cultivate their own style. A visually-rich style with a generous dosage of weirdness. But do their movies make sense? Not entirely. They do make sense until about half of the movie. Then hell breaks loose. And it soon becomes a mission for me to understand the how and the why when comes the end credits roll. Barton Fink
is no exception. Fink is a New-York playwright in the 40s. His play being such a success, he is asked to move to Hollywood to write a screenplay for a wrestling picture. He soon faces writer's block with a hint of solitude. But he meets Charlie who is not really who he pretends to be. The acting part is good: John Turturro loses it as the perfectionist and lonely writer and John Goodman, the so-called insurance salesman, is deliciously scary. I like the imaginative angles and the use of silence and background noises that make you feel claustrophobic and uneasy. There is no problem whatsoever about the cinematography and the artistic side. It is just the storytelling that is confusing. The end raises more questions than it answers. Despite my mixed feelings about this Joel Coen movie, I really liked his message on the necessity of pain to create and the expat loneliness. Everyone is familiar with the terrible writer's block and the pressure to create. You can easily relate to Barton when your inspiration fades away. Barton Fink is another tale about manipulation and disrespect made in Hollywood. A topic I'm never sick of talking about.
is no exception. Fink is a New-York playwright in the 40s. His play being such a success, he is asked to move to Hollywood to write a screenplay for a wrestling picture. He soon faces writer's block with a hint of solitude. But he meets Charlie who is not really who he pretends to be. The acting part is good: John Turturro loses it as the perfectionist and lonely writer and John Goodman, the so-called insurance salesman, is deliciously scary. I like the imaginative angles and the use of silence and background noises that make you feel claustrophobic and uneasy. There is no problem whatsoever about the cinematography and the artistic side. It is just the storytelling that is confusing. The end raises more questions than it answers. Despite my mixed feelings about this Joel Coen movie, I really liked his message on the necessity of pain to create and the expat loneliness. Everyone is familiar with the terrible writer's block and the pressure to create. You can easily relate to Barton when your inspiration fades away. Barton Fink is another tale about manipulation and disrespect made in Hollywood. A topic I'm never sick of talking about. 
No comments:
Post a Comment