This trend of mixing genres continued and intensified with "Barton Fink" (1991); the Coens insist the film "does not belong to any genre". Ethan has described it as "a buddy movie for the '90s". It contains elements of comedy, film noir, and horror, but other film categories are present. Actor Turturro referred to it as a coming of age story, while literature professor and film analyst R. Barton Palmer calls it a "Künstlerroman", highlighting the importance of the main character's evolution as a writer. Critic Donald Lyons describes the film as "a retro-surrealist vision".