Forget what you heard about FARGO (1996): BARTON FINK is actually the Coens' most autobiographical movie. Telling the bizarre odyssey of self-righteous playwright-turned-Hollywood screenwriter Barton Fink, the film was scripted during a bout of writer's block while making MILLER'S CROSSING (1990) – and counting the rings of this script, that adds up. It indicts Barton himself (no small feat in a movie where John Goodman does what he does in this one) by questioning any writer's ability, intent, and responsibility to write for "the common man". This episode is the sixth and final in our short series on a selection of Coen Brothers films screened at the Trylon Cinema in 2019. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters.
