The Man Who Wasn't There vs. Barton Fink

I have managed to narrow down my selection to these two films, and now have to choose just one.

Regardless of my previous lack of enthusiasm for 'Barton Fink', I have re watched and researched this film and through doing so have altered my opinion significantly.

I still remain absorbed by the simple but incredibly clever storyline from 'The Man Who Wasn't There' and as no other film has caught me this way I will continue forward on this project with just these two films in mind.

Comparing these films is a little difficult as they are such incredibly different films. So, I shall start with the similarities and use the differences to determine which film I will ultimately favour.

1. In both films the main protagonist is male.
2. Both films contain story lines of lust and of murder.
3. Both main roles are fairly withdrawn characters and conduct themselves quietly through the film, allowing the other characters to create the drama.
4. Both films are set in 1940's America.

Aside from the basic similarities the films follow very different paths. 'Barton Fink' chooses to question reality whereas 'The Man Who Wasn't There' is based on a highly realistic and very plausible storyline, which can sometimes be long and drawn out as it is such a straight story in the way it is conveyed to the viewer. In reality the film has many elements and twists that I suppose make it a lot more complex than once thought. By the end of "The Man Who Wasn't There' I understood what had happened and felt an opinion towards each of the characters. It told much more like the traditional films that I am used to. However, in Barton Fink there is much less of this and by the close of the film I had a mostly vague understanding of what the film 'told' me. I also had no particular strong feelings towards any of the characters, which is not something I am particularly used to. I am used to films where there is a clear intentional view point being portrayed by the director and I didn't feel this was the case with Barton Fink.

As well as being largely different in terms of content and intention there is a large aesthetic difference to the two films. 'The Man Who Wasn't There' is in Black and White, quite high contrast, mostly simple composition and a lot of close ups. Which differs some what to the look of 'Barton Fink' which is in colour and although still characters are mostly isolated there seems to be a notably further away view point. Maybe this helps the viewer to feel even less understanding. Both films do show use of the Coen's almost signature beams of light an Chiaroscuro lighting. The films are ten years apart so this could be a natural transition and development of both the Coen's and of Roger Deakins the Director of Photography for both of these films.

I feel that due to the linear way in which I work 'The Man Who Wasn't There' is the safer choice and was originally my favourite out of the films I watched. I didn't instantly connect with the others in the way that I did this one and created many ideas for both studio and location work before the film was even over. However, as I am looking to develop my thinking further and work in different way for this project I have decided to look into 'Barton Fink' which for me is an odd choice based on my first reaction. I think the way the film is so confusing will aid a much more complex journey and thought pattern to what I finally chose to do as an image.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? - 2000

Writer: Joel & Ethan Cohen (Homer "The Odyssey")

Director: Joel Cohen

Actors: George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, John Goodman & Holly Hunter

Set in 1930's Mississippi three convicts escape from jail to retrieve a loot supposedly stolen from an armoured car by Everett and buried near his home.

During the journey the trio newly separated from their chains are met by George 'Babyface' Nelson, Tommy a young, black guitarist who they later from the 'Soggy Bottom Boys', a group of Sirens, a one eyed man called Big Dan Teague, and a KKK lynch mob.

This chaotic and humorous tale is at its heart a love story as Everett's actual motive for the jail break is to stop the wedding of his wife to another man.

Whilst, on the trail they narrowly avoid death and eventually are pardoned from their crimes.

I did enjoy this film, and think that there is a lot of scope for photographic opportunity, particularly for location based images.

This film is digitally coloured to look like Autumn and to give it an older feel, but like The Man Who Wasn't There it was recorded digitally in colour and adjusted in post processing. It might be worth looking at digital techniques for this if looking at either of there films.

No Country for Old Men - 2007

Writer: Joel & Ethan Coen

Director: Joel & Ethan Coen

Actors: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson, Kelly Macdonald

Llewelyn Moss; welder, hunter and Vietnam veteran comes across a scene of a drug deal thats has gone wrong. Surrounded by dead bodies, a truck sits filled with heroin and one wounded Mexican. Hunting for the 'last man standing', Moss finds him under a tree with a bag containing over $2 million which he takes back home, maybe in some attempt to boost the quality of life for him and his wife, Carla Jean. Returning to massacre later with water for the dying Mexican, who has since died, Moss is spotted by some gunmen probably coming for the drugs.

Knowing he is in danger he sends Carla Jean to stay with her mother and leaves home with the money. From this point on there are numerous teams and people who are trying to find Moss for a multitude of reasons.

- Sheriff Ed Tom Bell and a law enforcement team are investigating the drugs crime as well as trying to protect Moss and Carla Jean.

- Anton Chigurh a psychopathic killer who is hired as a hitman to retrieve the money from the drugs deal. He has a sick sense of fun in making people gamble for their lives with the flip of a coin and a haunting way of saying 'call it'. Chigurh hunts Moss for the duration of the film, but is just beaten at the end by the group of Mexicans.

- Carlson Wells is another hitman who is also on the hunt for the stolen money who has encountered Chigurh before.

- A group of Mexicans are looking for the money too. they beat Chigurh to Moss and kill him, but do not find the money as they don't have the same intellect.

In the end, Moss is killed by the Mexicans and Carla Jean is implied to have been killed by Chigurh down to a promise he made to Moss. Bell retires from the police force feeling out matched and Chigurh is injured in a car accident but bribes two teenagers not to say anything about him.

There is a sense of justice within the film, much like The man who wasn't there, where Moss is punished for taking the money by murder, and Carla Jean is killed down to his refusal to trade the money for her life. He thought he could have it all and easily.

The coin toss illustrates decision and the value of those decisions although barbaric and corrupt people have a choice. Bell had a choice of two rooms, Chigurh was in one, but he chose the other and survived.

I did enjoy this film, it doesn't seem to follow the chaotic style of filming that I have come to expect of the Coen brothers as it all seemed very linear and real, but the drama and the depth into which the characters are explored draws you into it more.

I think this would be a good film to study as there are many different internal and external locations and plenty of different lighting techniques to use. The lighting is similar to Blood Simple the first film by the Coen brothers and has aspects of well lit rooms, to vastly black areas with snippets of highlight.

Blood Simple - 1984

Writer: Joel & Ethan Cohen

Director: Joel Cohen

Actors: John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya, M. Emmet Walsh

This is another tale of warped justice following yet another story of adultery and murder.

The story follows a woman named Abby who is having an affair with one of her husbands barmen, Ray. Marty, the husband, hires a private detective to catch the two lovers together in a motel.

The private investigator, Visser, is later hired to murder the pair in return for $10,000. Visser double crosses Marty and shoots him with a gun belonging to Abby. Ray, returning to the office to collect his outstanding pay arrives to see the dead body of Marty and assumes that Abby has murdered her husband. Ray cleans up the mess and takes the body in an attempt to hide it. It turns out that Marty is not dead, and Ray buries the body alive.

Marty has Abbys gun and tries to shoot Ray, but he is weak and the first two fires have no bullets. Ray confiscates the Gun.

Visser, realises that one of the images is missing and so is his cigarette lighter, he presumes that Ray and Abby know about the murder and goes to kill them. He shoots Ray, with a sniper rifle. Abby grabs her gun back off Ray and hides in the next door apartment.

At the end Visser is about to walk into the door, but Abby shoots him. "I'm not afraid of you Marty." she says. Visser laughs.

I didn't enjoy this film as I felt it very linear. The movies received good reviews but this is something I could not connect with. I didn't connect with the characters and almost didn't care what happened to them in this ridiculously messed up plot, where murder appears the simplest solution.

The Big Lebowski - 1998

Writer: Ethan Coen & Joel Coen

Director: Joel Coen

Actors: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, David Huddleston, John Turturro

1hr 56min

Jeffrey Lebowski is a middle aged, unemployed, bachelor who becomes involved in a kidnapping scandal when two thugs break into his house and soil his rug mistaking him for the LA millionaire Jeffrey Lebowski. In attempt to gain compensation for the rug, Lebowski, who calls himself "The Dude", tracks down The Big Lebowski who refuses to refund him the damages.

On the way off the grounds, with a rug, The Dude meets Bunny Lebowski the young, loose wife who is the subject of the kidnap case.

The Dude is later hired by the Big Lebowski to make a drop of a million dollars to the kidnappers. Along side his friend Walter Sobchak, from his bowling team, The Dude makes the drop but Walter insists on throwing the ringer instead of the money.

Walter is a loud mouthed, arrogant Vietnam veteran and Jewish convert with a violent temper who tends to aggravate most situations.

Bunny Lebowski arrives back after going away on holiday, and the Dude's suspicions are realised although not quite as he predicted.

This film was easier to follow than Barton Fink due to it actually having a clear storyline, but again The Coen Brothers have thrown in some bizarre scenes that seem only important as a distraction or to confuse the audience.

I found this film irritating to watch as the dialogue is mostly selfish and intense. At this point I haven't taken much inspiration from this film, so I don't think I will be looking into it any further.

Barton Fink -1991

Writer: Joel & Ethan Coen

Director: Joel Coen

Actors: John Turturro, John Goodman, Judy Davis, Michael Lerner, John Mahoney, Tony Shalhoub

1hr 52min

Barton Fink is a playwright from New York, who after a brief success, is hired to write a "B-movie" wrestling film for Wallace Beery. Fink is a gawky looking, pretentious artist who rarely listens. Hollywood is a great difference from New York, where Barton was able to follow his obsession with creating theatre for the common man. Back at the dank and eerie hotel, Fink tries to make a start on the script for this new film, only to be hit by writers block.

This is an incredibly confusing story in which at times seems like there is no story or tale at all. It tends to follow a line on the harsh reality of Hollywood, with a sideline of a murder.

Charlie Meadows, Finks only friend throughout the film, appears first when Fink makes a complaint about the noise coming from Meadows room. Meadows seemingly ignoring the complaint introduces himself as an insurance salesman. The two become good friends and Meadows attempts to help Fink overcome his writers block.

One night, with a deadline for the next day, Fink invites Audrey Taylor around to help him with his script. She is the assistant and lover of a 'great' write W.P. Mayhew. It is implied that the two sleep together that night, when he wakes up she has been murdered. Fink turns to Meadows for help. Later, it is found out that Meadows is a murderer by the name of "Mad Man Mundt".

The end is a complete mind warp and I cannot say that I understand what happened in the movie at all, but I think this is the desired affect. The movie ends Fink on a beach with a box, that we never find out the contents. And a girl comes over and recreates a pose of a painting that was hanging in Fink's hotel room. This make you question whether he is really there and whether or not the girl is 'real' or if he is dreaming, which is possible to then associate with many of the past scenes undoing any understanding you may have once had.

I have seen this movie once before and both times have been left confused and questioning. This as an idea inspires me to create imagery based on confusion and abstraction. Possibly to build a set in which nothing matches anything else and certain objects obviously don't belong.

I can't say that I am particularly inspired by much of the film in terms of colour, composition or location but I like the scene where the hallway in the hotel is on fire and Meadows is stood using a key to get into his room.

The Man Who Wasn't There - 2001

Writer: Joel & Ethan Coen

Director: Joel Coen

Actors: Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand, Michael Badalucco, James Gandolfini, Scarlett Johansson.

1hr 56min

The Man Who Wasn't There is a film about a man who wishes for a better quality of life. It tells a tale of adultery and murder similar to many of the Coen Brothers films.

Ed Crane is a barber in Santa Rose, California. On an offer of a business partnership, which could enhance his dull existence, he blackmails his wife's suspected lover (Big Dave) for the funds he requires. This ultimately leads to his wife's arrest for the murder of Big Dave. The tale does not end happily resulting in the deaths of most of the main characters, although a strange kind of justice is done.

I really enjoyed this film although I felt it a little slow paced. I love the monotone, monosyllabic way in which the main protagonist speaks, which matches the high contrast black and white simplistic composition that runs throughout the film. I am particularly inspired by the highlights of light which seem to be a feature, many in brilliant geometrical beams.