”Barton Fink” is a pretty confusing movie. It begins as a fairly simple story about a naive, self-absorbed young playwright who comes to `40s Hollywood but then suddenly turns dark and stylized to the point of surrealism, full of ambiguities and unanswered questions (most notably a box given to the title character that may or may not contain a human head).
And I won`t try to tell you what it all means, because I really don`t know. But while I`m sure I`d understand it a little better if I saw it again, I actually doubt that the ”depth and meaning” of this film is anything more than a playful illusion, especially given the Coen brothers` sly sense of humor and avowed distaste for artistic pretension.
But even if I`m wrong, it doesn`t really matter. ”Understanding” a movie is only important if its ”meaning” is important, but since most movies are made for entertainment and not study, true ”depth” is overrated simply because it cannot be appreciated in two hours by even the most perceptive of audiences.
Commercial filmmaking, even at its best, just isn`t art on a grand scale. And the Coen brothers realize this-the real point of their movies is their overwhelming sense of style.
Similarly, Kenneth Branagh`s new film, ”Dead Again,” is an excellent, entertaining, intelligent movie without being at all deep or meaningful. It is, at the same time, both a celebration and a parody of the thriller genre and of the movies in general, done with lavish style.
On one hand, it is a classic suspense picture, full of contortionistic twists and extravagant red herrings. On the other, it is an absurd comedy, with a silly reincarnation subtext (explained in shtick by Robin Williams) and a fight-scene climax featuring excessive slow-motion and a fat guy with a pizza.
And yet it blends these two sides into an indivisible whole, a unique form of pure entertainment.
(STAR)(STAR)(STAR)(STAR) (each).
