![]() Karl scolds Fink for his inability to listen and his tourist-like approach to the world of the working class. Then, he turns to Barton, handcuffed to his bed by the two detectives who believe him to be at least an accomplice in Audrey's murder. Shotgun in hand, he charges the two policemen while repeatedly screaming “I’ll show you the life of the mind!” He kills them both, one of them after uttering a dubious “Heil, Hitler” - either a reference to the cops’ blatant antisemitism or to Mundt’s own Nazi sympathies. The entirety of Barton Fink is a build-up of tension that finally culminates in the movie’s most memorable moment: the hallway scene, in which Charlie, now in full Karl Mundt form, storms through the sixth floor of the Earle as the hotel erupts into flames. The only upside is that the conditions of the Earle seem to have gotten a little better: the heat has become more bearable, the mosquitoes are gone, and the glue holding the wallpaper in place no longer drips, exposing the flesh-like walls of the hotel’s room. The Wallace Beery screenplay begins to flow, but so do Barton’s concerns about what truly happened to Audrey and what exactly is in the package that Charlie left in his care. As two policemen appear at the Earle to investigate the whereabouts of one Karl Mundt, a body-dismembering serial killer with a striking resemblance to a certain insurance salesman, something clicks inside Barton’s head. Unfortunately, Charlie might not be exactly who he claims to be. Sadly, her assistance never amounts to anything as Barton wakes up to find her dead body beside him after they spend the night together at the Earle.įortunately, Charlie is there to help a friend out just before his trip to New York. The only person that offers him a helping hand is Mayhew’s assistant/mistress, Audrey. ![]() Mayhew ( John Mahoney) prove futile as his idol reveals himself to be nothing more than a drunken fraud. His efforts to pick the brain of novelist-turned-screenwriter W. His screenplay for a wrestling B-movie starring Wallace Beery isn’t going anywhere, and Barton gets little to no help from the studio execs breathing down his neck. As it turns out, writing for the pictures isn’t as simple as he had expected. RELATED: ‘Barton Fink’ and the Horror of Bottomless AnxietyĪnd if there’s something Barton needs in LA, that is a friend. But that sure won’t stop him from being a friend. Fink doesn’t listen to anything he has to say, no matter how much he claims to be interested in the plights of the common man? Yes, it definitely does. Fink’s door to listen to his endless ramblings about the hardships of being a writer. ![]() ![]() Friendly, cheerful, and an Average Joe through and through, Charlie quickly takes to Barton after the two have a minor disagreement about excessive noise. In the other corner, we have Charlie Meadows ( John Goodman), a self-proclaimed insurance salesman that lives next door to Barton at the Earle. Motivated by the promise of making a quick buck, Barton moves to Los Angeles and takes up a room at the Earle, a run-down hotel that he hopes will keep him close to the Average Joes that he uses as subjects for his plays. A playwright from 1940s New York, Barton is invited to write for the movies after his first play, a Death of a Salesman-like take on the American dream and the troubles of the working class, becomes a critical and box-office hit on Broadway. The question is: whose mind is it? In one corner, we have the titular Barton Fink, played by a somewhat adorkable John Turturro. One of the earliest additions to the Coen Brothers’ extensive body of work, Barton Fink is a film that can be described as taking place inside the mind of a single man. ![]()
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