Barton Fink (1991)

Director: Joel Coen
Stars: John Turturro, John Goodman, Judy Davis

The Coen's take on writer's block takes its hero, playwright Barton Fink (John Turturro) to L.A. to pen a good old fashioned Hollywood wrestling picture. Fink, coming off a wave of critical acclaim for his most recent play, is tasked with churning out a big hit for the studio.

Drawing on the wave of famous writers called to La La Land in the '40s and '50s, and the terrible time that writers like Faulkner had of it, Barton Fink is set in a huge, mostly empty hotel where there's nothing to do but avoid the creepy bellboy (Steve Buscemi, obviously) and stare at the empty page. A slew of strangers and strange things begin to happen in the absence of Fink's creativity, including John Goodman in a show-stealing turn as, maybe, the devil. The Coens at their most brilliant.