Despite what Barton may say about respecting the common man, Barton (the super ego) dismisses everything he has to say.īarton breaks through his writer's block immediately after the detectives tell him about Mad Dog Munt, and that scene ends with the detective telling Barton "call me when you remember something that isn't totally idiotic."
He makes a couple envious, sexist comments. His Id? He distracts Barton, tries to get him to drink and chat instead of working. We're supposed to believe he is a creative, imaginative person who can (in some ways) paint a picture with words, yet he relies on visuals so much? I don't know, my thoughts about the painting are a bit all over the place, but I think it's pretty significant. He continually looks at that picture in his hotel, as if he wasn't creative and couldn't imagine the scenery of a beach without the visuals in front of him. He says he sees the plight of the common man, but in reality he is completely out of touch with them and uses them as a means to get somewhere creatively. I also like the fact that it's implied that Barton really isn't a good writer. Perhaps an aspect of Barton is in every room? He is living in some sort of timeless, labyrinthine hotel where he occupies every room with a different part of his life? Who knows I just thought this was interesting. Those are both things that Barton himself does later on in the film, and they're both pretty important scenes. He hears: a man crying loudly, and a couple having sex.
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Barton hears two different things through the walls during the movie (a different wall in each case as well - the one neighbouring Charlie, and the opposite wall to that one).
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The only interaction we have between Barton and any component of the hotel is through Charlie, Chett, and what he hears through his walls (well, plus the elevator attendant and the cops). What caught me particularly was the fact that we never see Charlie's room or any other guests in the hotel. They show a man's literal mental decline as a room slowly devolving (my favorite symbolism).Īt the end you are wondering to yourself, did he descend? Was Milton right? Was the paradise he sought truly lost or did he finally succumb to the mental torment wrought on him by his every action?Īfter re-watching this today, I'm really starting to see the whole 'the hotel is a metaphor for Barton's mind' analysis. Barton Fink is a film that takes symbolism and doesn't make it obvious, or jam it down your throat all day. The Coen's do it with flair, panache, and some of the best cinematography you can ask for. It is extremely difficult to reference classic literature in modern film-making without coming off as pretentious or stuffy.īarton Fink manages to not only pack a comedic, compelling storyline about a fish out of water writer who has to fight the notion that his intellect guarantees his success, but also mirrors the descent into Hell.įrankly, taking something old and modernizing it (see: Oh Brother Where Art Thou) is extremely difficult. Well, what it does well is pack so much symbolism into such a tight, coherent package.
You can analyze it hundreds of ways, but you should really focus on the Shakespearean angle, the Milton angle, or the Dante's Inferno angle. Pay close attention to the dialogue in the elevator scene and you will be rewarded :).Īs a huge Coen brothers fan, this film is not only their greatest work, but one of the best films I have ever seen. This is a film that is so deep you will constantly be finding parallels to literary works each time you view it.
I'm not going to go through and list all the symbolism of the burning hotel, John Goodman's lines paralleling Paradise Lost, etc. Also note the only line of his play that you ever see repeated is a simple line "We'll be hearing from that kid, and I don't mean a postcard." He has high hopes and dreams of changing the world, but is put into the machine as just another cog. Note that he is a playwright, but when he moves to pictures his first film is a Wrasslin picture.
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The plot itself is just a device to work in a series of metaphors. There is a reason it won the Palm D'or unanimously. Honestly, this is the Coen brothers best work. I've seen a few posts already about 'ambiguous' plot in Barton Fink.
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