Barton Fink

Barton Fink (1991)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101410/]

The Gist:
Oddly enough, when I watched Barton Fink devolve into chaos, an unlikely spiritual film descendant came to mind: Mulholland Dr. Both films skewer the surrounding area of Los Angeles, the insincere mock up of personalities and the ugly carnal beast that resides beneath the initial impressions of beauty and grace. Both films also take that atmosphere and try to make some kind of connection to the larger mystery of life (mind you, these are just my reads on highly interpretive works of art). With Mulholland Drive that mystery was of death and silence and the tenuous grasps we make at relationships to try and fill some void or overwhelm our senses so we don't feel the constant decay of time. With Barton Fink, that mystery is of our purpose in life, our inner nature, the capacity for good and evil with us. I left both films having strong emotional impressions that were confounded by some clumsy effort to understand "what it all means", and with Barton Fink I sat talking with my friend about possible interpretations for a couple hours after the film.