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Barton Fink poster

Movies that feel likeBarton Fink (1991)

A renowned New York playwright is enticed to California to write for the movies and discovers the hellish truth of Hollywood.

If you loved Barton Fink, the closest films we have are The Aura (2005), Following (1999) and Sexy Beast (2001). All three share Barton Fink's contemplative and tense feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is One False Move (1992).

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If Barton Fink hit the spot, these will too

The Aura poster
The Aura
2005 · dir. Fabián Bielinsky
🍅 88%★ 7.1drama · thriller

Common ground: neo-noir

The difference: Trades the wit of Barton Fink for an angle of its own

A quiet, epileptic taxidermist plans the perfect crime. All he needs is the right opportunity. An accident, perhaps…

Following poster
Following
1999 · dir. Christopher Nolan
🍅 87%★ 7.4drama · thriller

The same preoccupation in both: neo-noir

Bill, an idle, unemployed aspiring writer, walks the crowded streets of London following randomly chosen strangers, a seemingly innocent entertainment that becomes dangerous when he crosses paths with a mysterious character.

Sexy Beast poster
Sexy Beast
2001 · dir. Jonathan Glazer
🍅 87%★ 7.3crime · thriller · drama

Playful where it counts, contemplative underneath

The difference: Sits closer to crime than Barton Fink does

Ex-safecracker Gal Dove has served his time behind bars and is blissfully retired to a Spanish villa paradise with a wife he adores. The idyll is shattered by the arrival of his nemesis Don Logan, intent on persuading Gal to return to London for one last big job.

One False Move poster
One False Move
1992 · dir. Carl Franklin
🍅 93%★ 7.1crime · drama · thriller

The same mix in both: tension, then atmosphere

Following a series of drug deals and murders, three criminals -- Fantasia, Ray Malcolm and Pluto -- travel from Los Angeles to Houston, finally arriving in a small Arkansas town to go into hiding. Two detectives from the LAPD, who are already on the case, contact the town's sheriff, Dale Dixon, to alert him of the fugitives' presence in the area. Underestimating Dixon, the criminals have no idea what they are about to face.

Jackie Brown poster
Jackie Brown
1997 · dir. Quentin Tarantino
🍅 88%★ 7.5crime · drama · thriller

Playful drama, and it commits to that

Jackie Brown is a flight attendant who gets caught in the middle of smuggling cash into the country for her gunrunner boss. When the cops try to use Jackie to get to her boss, she hatches a plan — with help from a bail bondsman — to keep the money for herself.

Bound poster
Bound
1996 · dir. Lana Wachowski
🍅 86%★ 7.3drama · thriller · crime

Both lean on stillness more than on thriller

Corky, a tough female ex-convict working on an apartment renovation in a Chicago building, meets a couple living next door, Caesar, a paranoid mobster, and Violet, his seductive girlfriend, who is immediately attracted to her.

The Grifters poster
The Grifters
1990 · dir. Stephen Frears
🍅 92%★ 6.8crime · drama

Comedy built on atmosphere, twice over

A small-time conman has his loyalties torn between his estranged mother and his new girlfriend, both of whom are high-stakes grifters with their own angles to play.

The Long Good Friday poster
The Long Good Friday
1980 · dir. John Mackenzie
🍅 97%★ 7.5crime · thriller · dramaMax

Tense drama in both cases

In the late 1970s, Cockney crime boss Harold Shand, a gangster trying to become a legitimate property mogul, has big plans to get the American Mafia to bankroll his transformation of a derelict area of London into the possible venue for a future Olympic Games. However, a series of bombings targets his empire on the very weekend the Americans are in town. Shand is convinced there is a traitor in his organization, and sets out to eliminate the rat in typically ruthless fashion.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang poster
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
2005 · dir. Shane Black
🍅 86%★ 7.4comedy · crime · mystery

Comedy with a pulse of wit, in both cases

A petty thief posing as an actor is brought to Los Angeles for an unlikely audition and finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation along with his high school dream girl and a detective who's been training him for his upcoming role...

Widows poster
Widows
2018 · dir. Steve McQueen
🍅 91%★ 6.8drama · crime · thriller

Playful thriller, and it commits to that

The difference: 27 years apart, and the 2010s show

A police shootout leaves four thieves dead during an explosive armed robbery attempt in Chicago. Their widows have nothing in common except a debt left behind by their spouses' criminal activities. Hoping to forge a future on their own terms, they join forces to pull off a heist.

SPL: Kill Zone poster
SPL: Kill Zone
2005 · dir. Wilson Yip
🍅 80%★ 6.9action · crime · dramaPrime Video

Contemplative drama in both cases

Chan, an articulate senior detective nearing the end of his career, is taking care of the daughter of a witness killed by ruthless crime lord Po. Martial arts expert Ma is set to take over as head of the crime unit, replacing Chan who wants an early retirement.

Night Moves poster
Night Moves
1975 · dir. Arthur Penn
🍅 78%★ 7.1thriller · crime · drama

Tense thriller, and it commits to that

Private detective and former football player Harry Moseby gets hired on to what seems a standard missing person case - a former Hollywood actress wants Moseby to find and return her daughter. Harry travels to Florida to find her, but he begins to see a connection between the runaway girl, the world of Hollywood stuntmen, and a suspicious mechanic when an unsolved murder comes to light.

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The best-reviewed films that share Barton Fink’s defining feeling.