If the story of the film is understood as unreal, it may be closer to the original intention of the Coen brothers (the director did not explain whether it is unreal or real, which reminds me of Scorsese's "Shutter Island"). A writer's lack of inspiration is probably one of the stories that film artists are most keen to show, because the directors who create the film have to go through the screenplay, and the screenwriters are under more pressure than the average writer - the work must be for the public, not like it. Ordinary writers act recklessly. The working environment of the writer is usually a closed space, and the plot of the murder in the room has been fully demonstrated in many films, such as Romansky's "The Strange Tenant", but the ending of the protagonist in that story does not seem to be too closely related to the room. "The Shining", "1408 Phantom of the Dead", etc. are closer to this theme, especially "The Shining", which is perfect. These two films are adapted from Stephen King's novels, probably his old man has a deep understanding of this aspect.
Returning to the topic, it is not appropriate to arbitrarily interpret the story in the film as an illusion in Fink's mind, because there is an element of reality in it. This kind of unreal mixed with reality is precisely the greatest charm of this film.
The story of "Barton Fink" is not like "Black Swan", which brings the audience into the tight plot designed by the director in the first half of the film, because the whole story has a strong sense of absurdity. But this absurdity is not as nonsensical as in The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie. The audience will be carried forward by the plot, and when they look back, they will feel that the plot makes no sense. The film doesn't end up going the way of a schizophrenic movie - it ends with an explanation of what happened before (as in "Psycho"). So Button Fink is closer to Mulholland Drive in essence.
Art is unique, and it's exciting that Barton Fink can be read in multiple ways. But looking at the style of the Coen brothers, I prefer to understand the film's story as if it actually happened. Most of the characters in the Coen Brothers movies are very similar, such as the wife-killing man in "Blood Labyrinth", the kidnapping man in "Frozen", and the murderer in "No Country for Old Men". The roles in these extreme states can better reflect some unstable forces in society and the people who are under these forces.
I'm going to look at "The Squid and the Whale" and "The Secret Window", which show the writer's living conditions, but I really don't like the famous "Adaptation".
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