Subtle Shadings

THE MOVIE: “Barton Fink”

THE SETUP: In surreal ‘40s Hollywood, scriptwriter Barton Fink (John Turturro, pictured) has nightmarish encounters with obnoxious studio chief Jack Lipnick (Michael Lerner), drunk novelist W.P. Mayhew (John Mahoney) and ghostwriter Audrey Taylor (Judy Davis, pictured), not to mention his overbearing neighbor, the working stiff Charlie Meadows (John Goodman).

THE LOOK: It’s hardly a costume spectacular when the lead character wears one itchy brown wool suit the entire time. (Granted, Fink does appear in his period piece underwear, with undershirt attached, a couple of times.) Still, in keeping with the mythology of the era, his one-suit wardrobe suggests success could happen so quickly for writers that they barely had time to change from New York winter clothes into something more suitable for Southern California. Costume designer Richard Hornung says all the characters’ wardrobes are packed with such metaphors. Cream suits for studio chief Lipnick have lapels and shoulders as expansive as Lipnick’s personality, and their light color represents the blank page Fink faces. Charlie Meadows grabs attention with his kitschy accessories, especially his dice suspenders and the porno necktie he demonstrates for laughs. Audrey Taylor ‘s wardrobe doesn’t have half the appeal. She wears only two outfits, both of them the typical nipped and fitted, pre-Armani Hollywood working girl sort. Her taupe jacket has a metaphoric twist, says Hornung. It has a hidden belt inside, so she is strapped into it--restrained, you might say. She wears it for a seduction scene in Fink’s room.

THE SOURCES: Many accessories were purchased or rented from vintage stores such as Private Collection in Glendale, including Audrey’s binding jacket, which, costume aficionados should note, bears an Adrian label. Hornung made Charlie Meadows’ authentically old-looking X-rated tie by Xeroxing a photo on fabric. The dice suspenders come from Neiman Marcus. Hornung designed all the men’s suits and had Lipnick’s hysterically funny, belted swim trunks custom-knit. Men’s oxford and wingtip shoes were purchased from Allen Edmonds in New York.

THE PAYOFF: Subtle shadings in color and character.