Bartleby (2001)

Overview
"Bartleby", a 2001 American indie movie directed by Jonathan Parker, is a whimsical interpretation of Herman Melville's short story "Bartleby, the Scrivener" published in 1853. The film stars Crispin Glover in the titular role, in addition to David Paymer, Glenne Headly, Maury Chaykin, and Joe Piscopo forming the rest of the principal cast. Parker's movie captures the absurdist and existentialist components present in Melville's source material, though it also overturns it by moving the setting from a 19th-century Wall Street law office to a modern-day public records workplace.

Plot
The movie is fundamentally the story of Bartleby, an enigmatic character who puzzles his colleagues with his unusual habits. When Bartleby is worked with by the supervisor of a public records office, known just as The Boss, played by David Paymer, he seems to be a perfect worker-- quiet, dedicated and devoted. Nevertheless, things take a sharp turn when one day, in reaction to a regular work demand, Bartleby merely responds, "I would choose not to".

This phrase quickly becomes Bartleby's stock response to any instruction or request, much to the bewilderment and disappointment of his co-workers and superiors. In spite of repeated efforts to fix Bartleby's action or dismiss him, The Boss fails, mostly due to his own passivity, indecisiveness, and possibly a sense of bafflement and responsibility for Bartleby. This circumstance forms the core of the movie, highlighting the extensive alienation and inertia lurking beneath the surface area of routine workplace life.

Significance and Themes
"Bartleby" uses its titular character as a sign for specific resistance and non-conformity staged versus the dehumanizing capitalist system. His consistent refrain, "I would prefer not to", represents a quiet but firm disobedience versus socially accepted standards and expectations, causing his seclusion and alienation. By representing Bartleby's rejection to adhere to the demands of work and society, which ultimately intensifies to a rejection to take part in life completely, the motion picture explores existentialist styles.

The movie uses its contemporary workplace setting to further stress the alienation and uniformity of everyday work. The tediousness of office life, combined with Bartleby's strange habits, adds a Kafkaesque quality to the film, restating the absurdity and often unavoidable patterns of modern-day living.

Ending and Reception
The motion picture ends bleakly, with Bartleby's rejection to engage reaching the refusal of fundamental sustenance, resulting in his death. His terrible demise functions as a grim commentary on the impacts of extreme social non-conformity.

Upon release, "Bartleby" received combined evaluations, with critics praising Glover's performance as effective and engrossing, mentioning that he played out Bartleby's eccentricities with a balance of subtlety and absurdity. The plot's uneventful nature and slow rate met with some criticism, but others applauded its unique, existential narrative for catching Melville's story's essence in a modern context.

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