I love this film. Along with FARGO and MILLER'S CROSSING, it represents the Coen Brothers at their finest; like MILLER'S CROSSING, it is rooted in something of an underside of American history, presenting the past in rich, historical detail; like FARGO, it mixes the mundane with the comically absurd and moves along on the kind of nervous energy as personified by Turturro here (and by both Macy and Buscemi in FARGO). Others here have commented on the fine performances of Michael Lerner and John Goodman, and I agree - they enhance the film greatly. John Turturro is also perfectly cast, as are John Mahoney, Tony Shalhoub, and Judy Davis. But for me, what really makes this a great work of art is that it so open to varying interpretations such that each later viewing is, in a sense, a new experience. What can be made of the Charlie character, i.e., the "everyman," given what we come to learn about him, for instance? Or of the relationship of the artist to the everyman? Or artist to businessman? The answers are not always so obvious. I grade this a perfect 10/10.
Review of Barton Fink
