Bartleby (2001)

35% of critics liked it
(54 reviews)
68% of users liked it
(1,876 ratings)

Herman Melville's short story Bartleby the Scrivener gets a slightly surreal update in this offbeat comedy drama. The manager (David Paymer) of the city records department in a mid-sized California community decides that his staff of three -- flirty chatterbox Vivian (Glenne Headly), sloppy Vietnam… More Herman Melville's short story Bartleby the Scrivener gets a slightly surreal update in this offbeat comedy drama. The manager (David Paymer) of the city records department in a mid-sized California community decides that his staff of three -- flirty chatterbox Vivian (Glenne Headly), sloppy Vietnam vet Ernie (Maury Chaykin), and slick-suited, Don Juan wannabe Rocky (Joe Piscopo) -- could use some help, so he places an ad looking for a new employee. The boss ends up hiring the one and only applicant who wants the position, a quiet, pale young man named Bartleby (Crispin Glover). At first, Bartleby is a model of efficiency, but before long he loses enthusiasm for his job, much to the annoyance of his co-workers, and soon he's spending his days staring at an air conditioning vent. The Boss asks Bartleby to get back to work, but Bartleby's repeated reply to such requests is, "I prefer not to," and the Boss sees little recourse but to fire him. However, Bartleby refuses to leave his desk, and it soon becomes obvious that Bartleby has not only stopped doing his work -- he's stopped going home and has moved into the office. Bartleby was the first feature film for producer/director Jonathan Parker; he also wrote the screenplay, in collaboration with Catherine Di Napoli. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 22 min.
Directed By: Jonathan Parker
Written By: Jonathan Parker, Catherine DiNapoli, Catherine di Napoli
Genres: Drama, Art House & International, Comedy

In Theaters: May 24, 2002 Limited
On DVD: Jul 8, 2003
Studio: Parker Film Co

Critic Reviews

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
What was subtle and mystifying in the novella is now broad and farcical.
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
Except for Paymer as the boss who ultimately expresses empathy for Bartleby's pain, the performances are so stylized as to be drained of human emotion.
John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press
The movie, like Bartleby, is something of a stiff -- an extra-dry office comedy that seems twice as long as its 83 minutes.
Joe Leydon, Variety
A much more successful translation than its most famous previous film adaptation, writer-director Anthony Friedman's similarly updated 1970 British production.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
This is a shrewd and effective film from a director who understands how to create and sustain a mood.
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
I liked the original short story but this movie, even at an hour and twenty-some minutes, it's too long and it goes nowhere.
Stefan Birgir Stefansson, sbs.is
could have been better
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
The film was weird, but not funny or meaningful.
James Plath, Movie Metropolis
Watching it, I couldn't help but think of an old Jimmy Buffett lyric, "Living and Dying in Three-Quarter Time." This is life in the slow lane.
David Cornelius, eFilmCritic.com
Glover is perfect for the role, and Paymer lends a strange, almost addictive voice to his character's vocal style.
, Film Threat
Melville is often favored for his troubled heroes on their obsessive, nihilistic journeys into the abyss. Of course this kind of thing can be easy to screw up on film, as Parker has done here.
Jean Lowerison, San Diego Metropolitan
Paymer and Glover are terrific as the perplexed boss and the laconic non-performing employee.

Read all 12 critic reviews

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paul s

Having seen the original film version of this back in the early 70's (with Paul Scofield I believe), I was intrigued; wondering if my teen impressions of Mr. Melville's classic short story would have the same kind of impact. As presented here, the film attempts an update… More
Having seen the original film version of this back in the early 70's (with Paul Scofield I believe), I was intrigued; wondering if my teen impressions of Mr. Melville's classic short story would have the same kind of impact. As presented here, the film attempts an update of the story, placing it in modern day within a faceless building. I would imagine that most of you know the story (I'm assuming that it is still required reading??) so I'm not going to go into the plot details; just let it be said that an odd soul answers an ad, gets hired and then begins stating that classic line whenever he is asked to do something other than simple filing: "I prefer not to". In this interpretation, the office is filled (well, if you can call two other workers, a secretary and a boss, "filled") with odd types - Glenne Headley truly shines as the secretary and Joe Piscopo gives a fair turn as a suit wearing lothario, stuck in a job he hates. At the center is David Paymer, who is the boss, and truly the focus of the film. He too is trapped, just doesn't realize it yet, and through it all his sense of humanity comes through - a fine performance. Sadly, this was a very small budget film - not that this in itself was condemming, but I found the off beat humor a bit offsetting (but I guess required given the despair of the subject matter), and somehow it all didn't fit together - coming across more as a college film school take on the material; although the seque from a shot of an airconditioning grate to the outside of the building, making it look like bars of a prison cell, was a nice touch. As the film fades to black and Paymer starts chanting "I prefer not to" shortly after mimicking the beginning scene where Bartleby grabs at the chain link that surrounds an overpass, you are left to wonder if the mantra is the key to freedom and if so, whether the true freedom can only come with making the ultimate sacrifice, turning your back on life itself. You can discuss Mellville till the cows come home, but we're here to discuss the film - which, I suppose, has glimpses of a deeper meaning, but ultimately fails to offer a more compelling storyline. Ultimately, if you are familiar with the material, the interpretation offers nothing groundbreaking, and if you are uninitiated, you'll probably shrug at this and say WTF?

Cast

David Paymer
as The Boss
Crispin Glover
as Bartleby
Glenne Headly
as Vivian

Joe Piscopo
as Rocky
Maury Chaykin
as Ernie
Seymour Cassel
as Frank Waxman

See full cast

Bartleby (2001)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

paul s

Cast