November 11, 2007
No Country
Photo: Finlay MacKay
The West is the land of outcasts, iconoclasts and lost souls, and JOHN TURTURRO as Barton Fink, the man-of-the-people playwright turned blocked screenwriter, is constantly looking for inspiration. Until meeting SAM ELLIOTT, swigging a white Russian as the Dude did in “The Big Lebowski,” Fink had never considered writing a cowboy movie. He wonders: Is there any way to mix social realism with the West?
Photo: Finlay MacKay
There’s always a heavy, and JON POLITO, who plays some version of a tough guy in many Coen brothers films, is puzzled by the terrorizing nihilism of AIMEE MANN and DAVID THEWLIS in “The Big Lebowski.” Like many of California’s cultists, their philosophy has gone from dogma to vengeance.
The West was built on transplants, on men and women who sought to redefine themselves in a land of opportunity. Since many of their movies are set in that part of America, the Coen brothers have observed and then reimagined many of those strivers, weirdos, beauties, believers and would-be prophets. From Holly Hunter’s baby-nabbing cop in “Raising Arizona” to Sam Elliott’s philosophical cowboy in “The Big Lebowski,” the Coens have created, again and again, instantly iconic creatures of the West. In this portfolio, photographed by Finlay MacKay, we sought to further the adventures of those Coen-devised personalities.
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“I got here the same way the coin did. I’m the same as the coin.”
Have I mentioned that I have a huge crush on John Turturro?
No? Well, I do. This is awesome, and I cannot wait to see this movie. If the drive-in theater near our house knows what’s healthy, they’ll double bill this with Darjeeling, so we can take care of it all in one fell swoop, eh, Andrew?
If it’s a Barton Fink/Lebowski-Turturro/Elliott smoosh-up that sets your soul ablaze, Erin, I fear you’re going to have to dash right out and find yourself a Sunday Times as yet unsold. The photo is one of a dozen or so in an odd ‘what if?’ portfolio devoted to Coen characters and featured in the Times Magazine. But it is durned innaresting, I will say that.