“Jack can’t read you got to tell it to him.” Later it will turn out that really Lipnik’s assistant Lou (Jon Polito) does all the work. Soon after arriving in SoCal, Barton meets studio boss Jack Lipnik (Michael Lerner), a big man with a big vision - at least so it seems. In any case, thematically this is the story of a playwright who sells out for Hollywood dollars. Trust me, I haven’t spoiled much of the story at all. Charlie Meadows, the hotel guest in the room next to Barton’s turns out to be a dark horse, who precedes about every other line by “Hell, yes,” “Hell, no,” or “Hell, why not!” And the final scenes of the movie complete the metaphor to a T. Barton learns that he is a ‘rez’, a resident as opposed to the ‘tranz’, who travel through. When Barton arrives at the Hotel Earle, Steve Buscemi appears from a hatch in the floor. Once you see it, you will notice the image system is present in the entire movie. It took me a number of viewings before I spotted the Big Metaphor in Barton Fink. I’m not always the fastest in picking up symbolism and theme. Both belie the Coen’s independent production budget. Fink’s arrival in California immediately boasts Roger Deakins’ hyper-stylised photography and the gorgeous, lush production design by Dennis Gassner. It tells the story of the eponymous New York playwright who leaves his dream of creating theatre for the people - to go and write for the moving pictures. ![]() Right in the middle of that first decade and a half sits Barton Fink, starring John Turturro and John Goodman. To my taste, each of the first seven features by the Coen brothers is a masterpiece.
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