The Coen Brothers: Fate, Violence, and Hollywood Absurdity

This session we turn to the strange, dark, and darkly comic worlds of the Coen Brothers with two of their most distinctive films: No Country for Old Men (2007) and Barton Fink (1991).

Both films explore characters who find themselves trapped in worlds they barely understand. In No Country for Old Men, a quiet act of greed sets off a relentless chain of violence across the Texas borderlands, raising haunting questions about fate, morality, and whether the modern world has simply become too brutal to comprehend. In Barton Fink, a New York playwright arrives in Hollywood hoping to write meaningful art, only to descend into a surreal nightmare of writer’s block, strange neighbours, and the suffocating machinery of the film industry.
Despite their very different tones—one stark and minimalist, the other claustrophobic and absurd—both films share the Coens’ fascination with existential dread, moral ambiguity, and the limits of human understanding.

For this meetup:
Watch both films beforehand.
Come ready to discuss themes, style, performances, and the Coens’ unique blend of philosophy, genre, and dark humour.

Some questions we might explore:
Is Anton Chigurh a human character, or something closer to fate itself?
What does Barton Fink say about art, Hollywood, and the role of the “writer”?
How do the Coens use genre (western, thriller, noir, surrealism) to explore deeper philosophical ideas?
Why do so many Coen characters seem overwhelmed by the worlds they inhabit?

As always, this is a discussion group—we don’t watch the films together. Watch them beforehand and bring your thoughts, interpretations, and favourite moments.

Whether you love the Coens or are discovering them for the first time, this should be a fascinating conversation.