BARTLEBY
A cry for significance in a dreary office.
Should You Watch It?
BARTLEBY is a strange, thoughtful morality tale about a man whose quiet refusal shakes an entire office. Its quirky comedy does not erase the seriousness underneath: alienation, tedious work, society’s intolerance of misfits, and the need for meaning and purpose.
The film’s strongest asset is Crispin Glover’s performance. Bartleby has only a few lines, but Glover gives them remarkable depth, while the story’s compassion for an isolated and desperate man invites serious conversation. The visual style also supports the theme, using period colors and unusual office spaces to emphasize isolation.
The cost is content that keeps this from being a family film: sexual innuendo, light obscenities, smoking, drinking, and a bleak cry of despair. If you are an older teen or adult who can engage those elements thoughtfully, this is worth seeing as a conversation starter.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESBartleby arrives at a dreary city records office after its manager and eclectic staff advertise for a new employee. Odd from the beginning, he initially appears diligent and compliant.
Then, when asked to perform a simple task, Bartleby quietly replies, “I’d prefer not to.” His unexplained refusal unsettles the office and forces each worker to confront his or her own response to someone who will not fit the expected mold.
Is It Any Good?
Three stars means BARTLEBY is a good, worthwhile film with some noticeable flaws. Crispin Glover gives Bartleby incredible depth through his eyes, body language, and a few emotionally potent lines. David Paymer also delivers a strong performance as Bartleby’s boss, whose response changes from irritation to sympathy and empowerment.
The quirky comedic edge works well without destroying the story’s seriousness or pathos. The film is visually interesting, with a quirky 1970s style, period colors, and fantasy office complexes that underscore its theme of isolation.
The sexual innuendo often feels unnecessary, and the modernization includes some minor changes. Still, the adaptation remains extremely faithful to Herman Melville’s work.
The Worldview
BARTLEBY examines what repetitive work and an industrial society can do to a person. Its office workers treat one another as parts of a system, while Bartleby’s refusal exposes how little patience society has for anyone who does not fit its mold. The film presents this humanistic world as one in which people can become like machines—working and producing without clear purpose.
Against that emptiness, the film points toward meaning, purpose, dignity, individuality, compassion, and responsibility toward people in distress. It does not offer a clearly developed biblical answer, but it recognizes a truth that aligns with Scripture: human beings are more than their usefulness. Its strongest character growth comes through increasing compassion and unsolicited kindness.
The film’s central cry is for significance. Scripture gives that longing a firmer foundation: “He has put eternity into man’s heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
. Humanistic world view of man as a machine, working and producing with little purpose; two characters ruled by sensuality and lust; one character shows growing compassion and unsolicited kindness throughout movie, fighting feelings of anger and resentment; 6 light obscenities; no violence; scene of intended sex between man and young girl he picked up at a bar, heavy innuendo and double entendre by two characters, reference to someone’s daughter moving in with her boyfriend, light sexual fantasies described (including a woman on a red carpet surrounded by flaming torches), many for comedic effect, one dream with young nude girl lying on a desk – but no breasts or private areas exposed at all; one character drinks scotch; smoking; and, characters tease and threaten passive man who is unable to express himself, an irrational homeless man made fun of and a needy man is abandoned.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Bartleby’s refusal exposes the emptiness of work without purpose. How can ordinary work become an act of faithful service?
Colossians 3:23–24 · Ephesians 2:10The office struggles to understand someone who does not fit its expectations. What does it mean to treat every person as bearing God’s image?
Genesis 1:27 · James 2:1–5One character grows in compassion despite anger and resentment. When have you needed to move from irritation toward mercy?
Luke 10:33–37 · Colossians 3:12–13The film asks what society owes a desperate person. How do Jesus’ teachings shape our responsibility toward people who are isolated or in need?
Matthew 25:35–40 · Galatians 6:2The Final Word
BARTLEBY is quirky, visually distinctive, and genuinely compassionate toward people crushed by purposelessness. Its sexual content and bleak themes make it unsuitable for children, but older teens and adults may find it valuable for thoughtful discussion. The answer is WORTH THE TRIP — OLDER TEENS AND ADULTS.
