Name: Bartleby
Director: Anthony Friedmann
Genre: Drama
Released: 1970-10-30
Duration: 78 min
Rating: 6.6
Cast: Paul Scofield, John McEnery, Thorley Walters, Colin Jeavons, Raymond Mason

The ultimate quiet quitting before quiet quitting was cool.

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existential dreadcorporate surrealismmumblecore ancestor

Overview

Drama

An asocial and enigmatic office clerk refuses to do his work, leaving it up to his boss to decide what should be done with him.

Content warning

based on novel or book office job

Standout Aspects

Acting

McEnery's maddening stillness, Scofield's unraveling restraint.

Direction

Friedmann traps you in claustrophobic office hell.

Best for:Solo·Rewatch

Heads up:Emotional

Director

Anthony Friedmann

ReleasedOct 30, 1970

Runtime1h 18m

StatusReleased

Vibe

Paceslow

Intensitylow

Tonemixed

Feelheavy

Pantheon Film Productions

Top Cast

Paul Scofield

The Accountant

John McEnery

Bartleby

Thorley Walters

The Colleague

Colin Jeavons

Tucker

Robin Askwith

Office Boy

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Deep Dive

Trivia, insights & behind the scenes

Trivia

Paul Scofield reportedly found McEnery's commitment to stillness so unnerving he broke character multiple times.

Cultural

This forgotten 1970 adaptation predates Office Space by decades and arguably captures Melville's dead-end capitalism dread better than the 2001 version with Crispin Glover.