A Serious Man
Academy Award-winning directors Joel and Ethan Coen return to their comedy roots with this original and darkly humorous story about one ordinary man's quest to become a serious man. Physics professor Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) can't believe his life: His wife is leaving him for his best friend, his unemployed brother won't move off the couch, someone is threatening his career, his kids are a mystery and his neighbor is tormenting him by sunbathing nude. Struggling to make sense of it all, Larry consults three different rabbis and their answers lead him on a twisted journey of faith, family, delinquent behavior and mortality in the film critics rave is "seriously awesome!" (Michael Hogan, Vanity Fair).
Member Reviews
Seriously? - jld1307
I will preface by saying that I am a Coen brothers fan. But this film was so pointless in my view. Plotless, pointless, lacking all direction, with no resolution of anything at all! Simply frustrating. The acting was good, but I just couldn't understand the point of the thing.A Genuine Mensch? - Stitch
I think not. Agreed he’s awash in good intentions and denial but that’s about it, folks. Yes, the screenplay is intelligent to a fault as it proceeds to keelhaul our hero over the barnacles of daily existence. But it’s so intent on clever tweaking of Midwest Jewish culture that it forgets that maybe a few of us goy will be looking for entertainment along the way.
Some have likened this character to Job of the Old Testament. I don’t see the connection excepting the string of adversities besetting A Serious Man. If this was the Coen’s intent, they deliberately abandoned the exercise early on and proceeded to drag us through a numbing series of increasingly unlikely vignettes framing his and his children’s behaviors. Now in No Country for Old Men, these unlikelihood’s were unique and accented the story line; here I suggest the proper adjective is banal.
So be forewarned; what you see going in is what you’ll see on the way out. And it’s difficult to recommend a protagonist so blatantly uninteresting. In Brit cinema, we might compare this to a period piece dwelling on intellectual wordplay amongst the peerage. So you may liken this to the tale of a country squire with a limited vocabulary and retinue, Elizabeth likewise, and Mr. Darcy as the local vicar. Still debating their options at the curtain.
On the other hand…. I can see that someone raised in this environment might appreciate the double entendres and in-jokes, however banal. Since the Coen brothers did indeed grow up in a Jewish household in Minnesota with a professor father, this exercise is more likely a labour of their love. So the family (and the community) no doubt enjoy it immensely. For most of us, however, we must forego the satisfaction of seeing our home movies on the big screen. Something to be thankful for, right?.
A film for adults who appreciate a satirical take on ordinary folk and humdrum existence. Just don’t expect closure.A Serious Movie - Ubik
This is absolutely upper echelon Coen brothers. Think Fargo, or No Country for Old Men. It's fantastic. It's funny, it's cringe-inducing, it's tragic, it's bizarre as all hell, and it's extremely thought-provoking. My wife and I couldn't sleep after watching it, because we couldn't stop discussing the implications, the possibilities, the philosophy of the movie. We couldn't decide what it all meant. But we kept grasping at it. It got us thinking, and talking, and it hasn't stopped. I still can't get it out of my head. This movie is extremely entertaining, and then it sticks with you.
This movie also perfectly captures a certain aspect of the Jewish worldview. A lot of it reminded me of my own suburban childhood, my own awful experiences at Hebrew school, my own encounters with Rabbis. Like in Fargo, the characters are all broad and extreme, but again, like in Fargo, they are all, paradoxically, very human. They are sympathetic. You care about this man, you wince along with his tragedy, you gape at his misfortune, and you wish, desperately, that he would develop a spine. Whether he finally does or not, I'll leave for you to discover.
Be warned: this is a bleak, bleak comedy. Or perhaps it's not a comedy at all, unless you consider life itself a comedy, which it may very well be. It's tone is uniquely Coen brothers. The movie is just great - get it.
Member Reviews
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Seriously? - jld1307
I will preface by saying that I am a Coen brothers fan. But this film was so pointless in my view. Plotless, pointless, lacking all direction, with no resolution of anything at all! Simply frustrating. The acting was good, but I just couldn't understand the ...A Genuine Mensch? - Stitch
I think not. Agreed he’s awash in good intentions and denial but that’s about it, folks. Yes, the screenplay is intelligent to a fault as it proceeds to keelhaul our hero over the barnacles of daily existence. But it’s so intent on clever tweaking of Midwest ...A Serious Movie - Ubik
This is absolutely upper echelon Coen brothers. Think Fargo, or No Country for Old Men. It's fantastic. It's funny, it's cringe-inducing, it's tragic, it's bizarre as all hell, and it's extremely thought-provoking. My wife and I couldn't sleep after watching ...