Barton Fink

So I'm definitely at the point where I'm closing in on seeing every Coen brothers movie. Their early work in particular is still something of mystery and interest to me - old enough by now to be judged in a timeless vacuum and acclaimed enough for all kinds of critical analysis to exist online. Anyway, here's Barton Fink.

What can I say? It's a great, simple, complex movie. Simple in its plot, with a pretty barebones story and only four or five characters and, I dunno, three settings or so. But complex in its meaning, in its symbolism, in its undertones. I'm all for that, in a movie. You say "pretentious," I say, "fuck off and let artists strive for something, bud." I got Shining vibes from this movie's hotel scenes, and a quick glance around the Internet afterward tells me I wasn't alone in doing so. Also, John Goodman in particular was just phenomenal here. Which is never surprising, but always pleasant.

For now, it's too early for me to rank this against the rest of the Coen repertoire - they're just so, so good at what they do, and I need to give some serious reconsideration to a few of their movies I've only seen once - but suffice it to say this was a really good movie. (Shocker.)