Round-up 26: Barton Fink and Upcoming Releases

To be totally honest, I haven’t been watching as many films or television since my fall semester began last week. Regardless, I wanted to show up and give you all an update on what I’ve been up to, and cover what few titles I have gotten around to. As I mentioned, school is back in full swing, and the change of schedule entirely took me off guard. I don’t do well with change, and this is further proof of that. My classes have been going okay so far. I’m enrolled in bullshit elective classes to get my credit hours up to snuff for graduation, and I’ve finished the majority of my major requirements. This semester I’m taking an introductory nutrition class, computer fundamentals, and a class I’m most excited to get into the mud with: literature in film… The professor is very engaged and clearly excited to talk about the material at length. I wasn’t sure what I was getting into with it when I signed up, but I’m very glad that I did. More updates to come on what we talk about and watch, but just glancing over the syllabus and seeing Jodorowsky’s Holy Mountain (1973),

I am immediately sold. Weird ass films and short stories, and novellas? Yeehaw.

            Despite being very overwhelmed and tired at the end of the day, especially on the days I’m still working, I did get around to a film I’ve been wanting to watch for a couple of months now, ever since I heard who was behind it. I have seen almost all of the Coen Brothers’ films, but Barton Fink (1991) continued to slip under the radar. And how? This is easily their most creative and inventive story! It follows John Turturro as the titular character, a neurotic young man who writes plays for the theater in the 1920s. His life is uprooted and sent into a descent into horror as he’s sent to Hollywood to write “for the pictures”. What starts and slowly progresses as a dark comedy with occasional moments of dramatic tension spirals into a psychological horror film by the time the final credits roll. The producers and faceless people behind the money of the industry serve as the antagonists; comically large and loud, always aggressive and punctual. It’s clear to me that this was a commentary by the Coens on their own personal experience in Hollywood. The searing rage behind the language chosen throughout the conversations between Barton and the various heads of the studio is deliberate and brash. Overall, it was a very fun film, and I love that the Coens consistently give John Goodman and John Turturro bigger roles in their films. Particularly Turturro, as I feel he is often relegated to side characters, when he has the range and impact to be the protagonist, as evidenced by this performance. I’ve always felt that black comedy and horror pair very well, and the way in which the horror aspect was handled in this film was near perfect. Wonderful imagery and motifs throughout, too. This is an absolute must-see if you haven’t already.

            I also spent last night rewatching Gregg Araki’s The Doom Generation (1995) and Nowhere (1997). If you’ve been reading along with this, you’ll find it interesting that I continue to bring these films up. I bought the Teen Apocalypse Trilogy Criterion Collection set that got put out a few months ago, and I have been really getting my money’s worth. As someone with a notoriously weak stomach, I find it very impressive that Araki can not only hold my attention for the runtimes of his films but also genuinely make me feel enlightened. These two films specifically generate a new world; it feels like using a time machine to go to a time that never existed. The themes of struggling youth and their sexualities are consistent and handled with care. Something not seen too often, especially these days with the liberal formula of lecturing the audience, Araki instead attacks the audience’s senses and uses purposefully coarse and direct language, but also puts immense focus on his characters. An approach lost in time, I guess.

            As we enter September tomorrow, on Labor Day, I wanted to bring attention to some upcoming films releasing later this year that I am particularly excited for. First and foremost, Paul Thomas Anderson’s comeback with One Battle After Another is slated to be out at the end of the month. Having read the source material, I am very excited to see how Anderson adapts the 80s era to the modern day. Zach Cregger’s Weapons has been out in

theaters for a few weeks now, and it is absolutely at the top of my watchlist. A callback to my earlier comment on the fusing of black comedy with horror, this is exactly what I’ve been hearing it is, and I need me some of that as soon as I can. Darren Aronofsky is back with Caught Stealing, starring Austin Butler, and this is a black comedy crime thriller, a great departure from the writer/director’s typical, deep character studies. It’s been receiving mildly positive reviews so far, but I am looking forward to having an opportunity to decide for myself. The last one that I’m really looking forward to in the coming months is Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme, starring Timmy Chalamet as a ping pong obsessed player in the mid-20th century. That trailer I have been watching on repeat since it first came out. Pure electric excitement.

            That’s all I have for now. I have been severely lacking, but I will be making up for it in the coming weeks as I settle into my new routine with the fall semester. I will say, football being back on the weekends has me feeling some type of way. The temperature is cooling down, and we are officially heading into fall. Wishing you all a wonderful week. Watch something good.