A Serious Man Reviews and Ratings


  • robfearon
    November 24, 2009
    robfearon
    On some level, the Coens' flippancy is self-protective. But there's fascination and pleasure in their trick of constructing a film like a theorem where nothing adds up.
  • HughDawg
    November 24, 2009
    HughDawg
    This is a weird movie. it's sort of in between territory for just about every aspect of film. watching it, i was split betewwn humour, pain, and frustration as i just wanted thing to tie up, insted of being unresolved and going no where. the movie points out we want answers and ...( read more)in this film we realy need them.

    i though this one was self indulgent; the jewish overtones are so thick it was like the coens are wriiting this because they wanted to do a personal movie. either that or someone convinced them they must do a jewish movie. this is not so bad, i have no problem with it perse, but it appears as if is a work of personal values.
  • Nenebelle
    November 23, 2009
    Nenebelle
    Recmmended by scottydgibbs.
  • LTidemar
    November 23, 2009
    LTidemar
    Oh yay! Love the Coens!!!
  • sorullo2
    November 22, 2009
    sorullo2
    The Coen's will never seize to amaze me.
  • dsoul
    November 22, 2009
    dsoul
    One thing I can say for sure is The Coen Brothers know what they are doing. From every placement of the camera and the impeccable timing, damn these boys are good. This is a master stroke of film, the curve balls in story that seem to come out of nowhere get the brain thinking. I...( read more)ts engaging, it has you wondering what is going to happen next and surprises you with its understatement. The ending is abrupt but it tells you what it wants to say. I guess thats the bottom line. The characters are awesome but typical of a Coen Brothers movie. A must see for the lovers of FILM.
  • 366weirdmovies
    November 24, 2009
    366weirdmovies
    A putzy Jewish physics professor suffers from a series of problems including a failing marriage, bratty kids, students willing to do anything for a passing grade, financial troubles, and a ne'er-do-well brother. It's a retelling of the Book of Job as an absurdist comedy; frequen...( read more)tly funny but also confounding, with a notorious non-ending. So intensely Jewish that you'll feel ready to be mitzvahed after one viewing.
  • tequilamockingbird82
    November 22, 2009
    tequilamockingbird82
    Terrific exercise in the art of sympathetically depicting a man at breaking point. Stuhlbarg could have a Best Actor nomination. Also hands down one of the year's best original screenplays. Though AWAY WE GO may still be my favorite picture, A SERIOUS MAN beats even THE BROTHER...( read more)S BLOOM in writing. Rian Johnson is promising, but the Coens may be likened to the tornado toward their film's close: a force to be reckoned with.
  • scottydgibbs
    November 22, 2009
    scottydgibbs
    michael stuhlberg i feel will get nominted for a oscar for his breakthrough role here,as larry gopnik going through family problems in the latest coen brothers film, as usuall, thecoens trademarks are on show, and im guessing will infuriate non fans,but coen fans willget a lot ou...( read more)t of this, like turtorro in barton fink, and william macy in fargo, stulberg has created a marvellous sad charactor, and the film telling so much, watch this andwatch it again, i feel ill get a lot more out of it
  • 3LB
    November 22, 2009
    3LB
    I didn't really get this movie.
  • domsi96
    November 21, 2009
    domsi96
    One thing I have learned from this trailer is that:
    LARRY GOPNIK NEEDS HELP!!!
  • jschartrand
    November 21, 2009
    jschartrand
    An[other] extraordinary film by the Coen brothers who delivers a strong yet depressive movie about a man who tries to make everything works when everything falls apart (and actually everything really in a way fall apart non-figuratively). Strong with his direction and characters ...( read more)and everything. One of the best movie of the year. Incredible, simply incredible.
  • labramovitz
    November 20, 2009
    labramovitz
    This is one of the most engrossing movies the Coen brothers have ever produced. Only they could manage to tap into the dark side of Hebrew School in the Upper Midwest.
  • cenzano38
    November 19, 2009
    cenzano38
    I don't know what happened. I wanted to like A Serious Man. The previews were good, and it's the Coen brothers, for Christ sake.

    A Serious Man is a flat out..... well..... flat movie. The Coen brothers have had such success making movies that aren't overly flashy, or flashy at ...( read more)all, come to think of it, and it usually works. Not here. My wife fell asleep, and I didn't bother trying to wake her up. With the pace of this film, she would have fallen right back to sleep. The fantastic characters that are the norm for the Coen's to create were stymied by the script. The few really funny scenes were drowned by the many lame, disinteresting one's.

    There are some things to like about A Serious Man. There were some funny scenes. The Coen's do a great job at creating an awkward tension that can be seen in this movie as well. Casting was great. Simon Helberg is in it (Howard Wolowitz from Big Bang Theory). He's a funny guy. Everyone made the most of their opportunities. The movie had a point, as they like to put in their movies. And the sudden stop to the movie ending is in place. I've always liked them. Cinematography was very good.

    This is, by far, my least favorite movie from these two. The Big Lebowski is, by far, my favorite. If you can't sleep, I'd strongly recommend A Serious Man. Otherwise I wouldn't tell anyone they need to see it.
  • mynameissupertramp
    November 19, 2009
    mynameissupertramp
    adding this to the list of the Coen's achievements. brilliant.
  • lynnew212
    November 15, 2009
    lynnew212
    brilliant laugh out loud funny and at the same time as being terribly melancholy. life sucks and larry gopnik knows it!
  • hypathio7
    November 14, 2009
    hypathio7
    The Coen brothers have created THE NEW FIDDLER ON THE ROOF! Here are the reasons I say that: first, the trailer in its own way presents a musical composition to us; second, the opening scene presents roughly the same time period and place; third, the story takes place in an alm...( read more)ost exclusively Jewish community; fourth, the main character Larry is dealing with comparable family troubles and trying to find answers from God; and fifth, look at the poster.

    Now the Jefferson Airplane song Somebody to Love figures prominently into the movie too as does ceremonial Hebrew music for Larry's son's bar mitzvah. The opening Yiddish scene is darkly humorous and I suppose it is there to suggest the ancestors of the Gopniks may have caused a curse on the family. I have heard that the movie portrays a very authentic Jewish community especially in the way the characters speak and interact. Professor Larry Gopnik lives in America in the 1960's, so he only has two children, a son and a daughter, but his family and professional troubles turn his life on its head with divorce, marijuana, gambling, bribes, and seeking tenure. Wishing he were a rich man hasn't changed though! Being an educated man from the 20th century means Larry doesn't have conversations with God in the same way. He seeks three rabbis as links between him and God because the religious institution is really the only connection to tradition anymore, and being a mathematics/physics professor he is more versed in the Uncertainty Principle. Larry does actually venture up on his roof too, but not to fiddle. Well, wait... yes, by another definition of the word fiddle, Larry Gopnik is a Fiddler on the Roof. He tries to adjust the TV antenna for a show his son likes to watch and then he notices he can see his hot neighbor sunbathing nude.

    Sy Ableman is Larry's Lazar Wolf, but as with every other parallel to the old musical, there is a twist. Sy is the one described as a serious man and Larry through all his questioning and trying to fix his life crisis wants to be a serious man too. The cast is awesome! I think the Coen brothers have mixed tragic troubling moments with darkly humorous moments excellently. Like in No Country for Old Men, you may think the plot is being wrapped up all nice and neat, but then the story continues briefly and leaves you realistically (in a way fatalistically) hanging. So well constructed! I loved it!
  • kubrickian
    November 14, 2009
    kubrickian
    Michael Stuhlberg is fantastic.
  • tsigur
    November 13, 2009
    tsigur
    I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. At first, I thought it was a little annoying that the film offered more questions than answers, but then, by the end of the film, found that it was kind of the point of the film in my opinion. I connected with the idea of questionin...( read more)g the faith that the main character (well played by Stuhlbarg) had grown up in and made up most of his entire life. My big problem with the film was that I thought there were one too many dream sequences. I thought the one involving his brother and his neighbor was a little too paranoid as if every "goy" is out to get Jewish people was a little out there (even for a film set in this time period). The ending was good and thought there was some very funny parts and I can always enjoy the Coens' writing.
  • dominicelliott
    November 11, 2009
    dominicelliott
    looks good. Might watch it if want to. Looks funny
  • sanjurosamurai
    November 10, 2009
    sanjurosamurai
    without question, this is a film i could see myself raising the score on over time. this is a deeply brooding and thought provoking film that carries along with no clear plot until the end, when suddenly it all makes sense. this alegory of the life of Job takes a unique turn, p...( read more)ondering the question, "what if Job had failed?". deakins cinematography was wonderful and the unknown actors really delivered in a film that many will hate because they dont get it, but one that should be embraced for the vision of telling a thousands of years old story with a great glimpse into morality and suffering. the coens have done it once again.
  • toejambaseball24
    November 9, 2009
    toejambaseball24
    This movie was interesting...

    I'm not sure if I liked it...but it was interesting. Like a few of the Coen brothers movies preceding this bleak, slow-paced character examination of a "Job"-like man (Job, from the Bible), it may grow on me after a second and third watch, and I m...( read more)ight really like it and appreciate it. No Country really grew on me.

    But I don't know...this is a tough one. Everything I want to criticize this movie for (slow pace, no third act, no resolution) I know were intentional. Those are the hardest movies to rate. Everything that you want to say is a problem, the Coen brothers put there for the specific reason of making it a problem. I'm lost...and when I'm lost...I give 3 stars.
  • myfavchords
    November 8, 2009
    myfavchords
    I am not sure if a fully understand this film but I still enjoyed it. Like some films by the Coen brothers it really makes you think. There is a good lead performance by Michael Stuhlbarg. If you like the Coen brothers then definitely check this film out.
  • kurosawian
    November 7, 2009
    kurosawian
    The Coens knock another one out of the park. Ten times funnier than Burn after Reading, Serious Man is unsettling and ambiguous. The ending left me speechless (as did the prologue). This is the kind of film that leaves you with plenty of intriguing memories that make you just wan...( read more)t to watch the film again. So in the end, what's it all about? Larry's constant attempts at being a "serious" man is his cross to bear. We all try and keep the wolf at the door. However, the sin that he commits in the end brings about Armageddon. It's all rather brilliant. In typical Coens fashion, we're never sure whether they are sincere in their profound allegory, or perhaps they're just messing with us. Also, like Fargo, the most instantly memorable supporting character is a borderline stereotypical Asian man. Strange, yet genius.
  • muttonman21
    November 4, 2009
    muttonman21
    A very dark and tragic film but resonates so well with turbulent times as of late, reaching on a very personal level that I'm still quite taken by surprise mere moments after leaving the auditorium. The subject matter is dark and perhaps seemingly nihilistic that you walk out kin...( read more)da depressed, but the film still makes a point in that, if accepted by the viewers, it's somehow... positive.

    For a dramedy, A Serious Man is dark, tragic and seemingly nihilistic that I walked outta the auditorium depressed. Yet as I pondered more on the flick, I suddenly felt... enlightened. Usually films with this level of pessimism just festers themselves with that. Instead, A Serious Man towers over and laughs at the poor sap Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) while simultaneously providing insight on life itself. To the Coens, life seems to be a joke, and man's inept skills to grasp, explain, and understand makes it more hilarious to them. The joke's on you, the viewer, if your suddenly put off by the film's opening and ending. Heck, I didn't catch that until I read more reviews on the flick. And that's just the surface of some of the hilarity. But what to make of A Serious Man? Is it any good, worth checking out, etc.? For a roughly 100-minute flick, hardly anything goes on except Larry's constant struggles in his life; work, divorce, kids, etc. He seems to be the only person constantly seeking understanding whereas hardly anyone around him ever provide any insight; instead, they just go on living as if nothing bad would ever happen. It's like Larry can't find anything that assures him... not even the rabbis he visited were helpful. Noting his pretty crappy run-ins with life's unexpectedness and the mountains of questions that affect his life, I started seeing myself in this character; it was like a wake-up call. The film spelled out what should've been obvious: The more I know, the less I know. One viewing might've not been enough for me, however it did give more to think about than any normal flick that didn't fall under science fiction ever could. Might not be as exciting as No Country for Old Men or the Coens' other thoroughly enjoyable flicks, A Serious Man does pose some serious thoughts. I'll end with a little phrase written by another person which might be helpful should you watch this film: "expect to not fully understand the meaning, and in doing so you will completely get the meaning."
  • phoebecaulfield
    November 4, 2009
    phoebecaulfield
    The Coen brothers use their strange sense of humor perfectly in A Serious Man. Their use of humor allows the audience to settle into the uncomfortable every-man qualities portrayed in Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg). Filled with memorable performances all around and a great scri...( read more)pt, A Serious Man makes for a great movie-going experience.
  • michaelcorleone
    November 3, 2009
    michaelcorleone
    A tense, powerfully effective exercise in tonal control, this movie functions well as an entertainment piece as well as an art film. It's darkly hilarious in a style that only the Coen brothers can pull off, with phenomenal structure and a wonderfully ambiguous premise. The perfo...( read more)rmances are unanimously fantastic, from a cast of mostly no-name actors. Roger Deakins' photography is, of course, stunningly beautiful. In short, this film contains the kind of quality we have come to expect from these beloved American auteurs.
  • sarahgoode
    November 3, 2009
    sarahgoode
    The Academy Award Winning Coen brothers' are back. And their new film, A Serious Man (2009) is absolutely outstanding, certainly one of the best films I have seen all year. The plot is somewhat difficult to explain, and describing it doesn't really describe the film. However, ...( read more)I'll give you guys a brief synopsis anyway. Set in 1967, this dark comedy focusses on Gary Gobnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a Jewish, midwestern, physics professor who watches his life unravel when his wife prepares to leave him.
    The film is witty, smart, and excellently acted. Most of the cast are rather fresh-faced, including Tony Award nominee Michael Stuhlbarg as Gary, who certainly deserves an Oscar nomination for his role. The film will more then likely be receiving several other nominations as well, including one for Best Picture. Exploring questions of faith, family, delinquent behavior, morality, and Judaism, the film not only entertains but also makes you think.
    It currently has an 85% on Rotten Tomatoes and has gotten great reviews from many top critics. Claudia Puig of USA Today called A Serious Man "a wonderfully odd, bleakly comic and thoroughly engrossing film" and Kenneth Turan of the LA Times commented that the Coens have made "their most personal, most intensely Jewish film, a pitch-perfect comedy of despair that, against some odds, turns out to be one of their most universal as well." I definitely agree with both critics, especially Turan. It is quite interesting that such a unique, quirky film can also be so universal.
    This is truly an excellent film that I highly recommend!
  • inspecteursexuel
    November 3, 2009
    inspecteursexuel
    aucun acteur connu mais aucun acteur qui déçois, en plus un humour cynique et noir qui défriserait des boudin de juif ..et quoi dire de la trame sonore ... Jefferson Airplane
  • DrBenway
    November 2, 2009
    DrBenway
    A Serious Man works a lot more like Barton Fink in its' lack of glamour with "Physics vs. Fate" serving as the platform. It begins with a strange prologue that plays like Fiddler on the Roof written by Franz Kafka. Seeming to be the Coen's most intensely intimate film, it's als...( read more)o one of their most difficult to deconstruct as God puts main character Larry Gopnik through one test after another. And by God, I mean the Coen Brothers through the eyes of cinematographer Roger Deakins.

    Photobucket
  • cacutshaw
    November 1, 2009
    cacutshaw
    The story of Job with a twist of Schrodinger's Cat and some dark, dark comedy make up the latest Coen brother's masterpiece. Kind of like a companion piece to their good friend Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell, this smart and funny tale tells the story of a good man put to the test. ...( read more) I also love how it's main characters are all Jewish and the Coen's use of many Jewish tenets in their morality tale. A great, great film.
    Also, the conversation Larry has with Columbia records is probably one of my favourite symbolic moments in Coen history. But I didn't do anything!
  • her69eyes
    October 31, 2009
    her69eyes
    Perhaps the biggest complaint about Joel & Ethan Coen is their cynicism -" the way they cruelly weave their characters through these never-ending layers of doom. "No Country for Old Men" was essentially about injustice and a kind of senseless, unrelenting violence. "A Serious Man...( read more)", at first glance, may not appear as bleak as that film, but it's arguably an equally nihilistic foray by the brothers, who are now at the top of their game.

    Larry Gropnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a college physics professor, can't catch a break. A disgruntled student is attempting to ruin his career, his wife is leaving him, his brother-in-law is, quite literally, a pain in the neck, his son has been causing trouble at school, and so on. Many times throughout the film, Larry will say something to the effect of "but I didn't do anything!". It doesn't matter. If he doesn't do anything, the Record Club will still charge his account. This is a world of chaos, one in which a physics professor, trying to wrap his brain around an equation for certainty, has no luck.

    For words of advice, Larry attempts to visit three Rabbi's - each more useless than the last. The first is too young to provide the wisdom he seeks, the second tells him a bizarre fable omitting a morale lesson, and the third won't even agree to meeting with him.

    Stuhlbarg is an accomplished stage actor, but for most film-goers he's a blank slate. He couldn't be any more perfect. He doesn't try to play the lovable loser, nor does he go overboard with his mental breakdown. Although the film's world is rather exaggerated, his performance as Gropnik is understated. He's an average guy who tries to play with the cards he's dealt, yet he fails with them every time.

    The supporting characters are also uniformly perfect, once again proving that nobody strikes gold more often than the Coens when it comes to casting.

    The audience I saw the film with was very upset at the abrupt end to the film - a reaction not unlike the conclusion of "No Country for Old Men". I sensed, however, that after we had all sat through the credits, that everyone, including myself, knew it couldn't have ended in a better way. There aren't many final images as haunting as this one - so profound, discomforting, and almost humorous in the cruelest sense imaginable.

    "A Serious Man" is certainly bizarre, but it also may be the most mature of all of the Coen Brothers' work. While this pitiless universe may frustrate some, it's a welcome diversion from the Hollywood productions that ensure everything will be okay. Moreso, however, "A Serious Man" is so full of life in it's ensemble and period detail that it's far from simply depressing. Bleak, yes - but the film is so rich with ideas and impeccable imagery that you'll be begging for an encore once the credits roll.
  • chiobrocca
    October 30, 2009
    chiobrocca
    The humor is as dark as "Burn After Reading" or "No Country For Old Men", but in somewhat different way. It's more the horror of raising your head from the daily grind one day and asking yourself, "What does it all mean?", only to realize that there's no answer.
  • DrZeek
    October 30, 2009
    DrZeek
    Sy Abelman: Larry, everything's going to be fine.

    A darkly comedic film from the Coen Brothers. That isn't something new, but this film certainly casts a very bleak outlook on its main character throughout. Sharing qualities not since one of their earlier films, Barton Fink, thi...( read more)s film combines bleakness, ambiguity, and subtle humor into a very, for the lack of a better term, Jewish film.

    The film's lead character is Larry Gopnik, a physics professor living in 1967 Minnesota. He is married with two children. His son is soon to be having his Bar Mitzvah, although all he wants to do is smoke weed, watch F-Troop, and listen to Jefferson Airplane in Hebrew School. Larry's Daughter is stealing money from him for a nose job and seems to always want to wash her hair, which is a problem because of Larry's brother Arthur. Arthur seems to be freeloading, living on Larry's sofa as he delves into questionable activities during the day.

    The real problems for Larry are soon to be packed on top of each other. His wife is planning to leave him for another man. A student, whom Larry failed, has attempted to bribe him for a passing grade, or sue him if he rats him out, which may also be threatening his chance at tenure. He is having issues with his neighbors, issues with a company on the phone, claiming that he owes money, issues involving lawyers that he needs for various things such as his divorce and his brother, and even issues involving the TV antenna.

    Larry tries to seek advice from different rabbis, but the results only leave him more and more confused. It is not in Larry's character to react in any higher emotions than general concern, but his efforts at being a serious man are certainly being tested throughout.

    I love the idea that the Coen's were basically given the chance to make a movie as obscure as this one. After Burn After Reading, which was packed with A-list stars and a much more audience friendly vibe, despite still having a very Coen feel to it and still being hilarious, this film features no big name stars (the biggest would be Richard KInd) and contains many elements that are sure to leave many people confused or dissatisfied if they are not familiar with the Coen Brother's style or expected something much more mainstream.

    This film certainly continues the trend of the Coen's really pushing their characters around for the worse. Larry is very much a Job like character, with all his stacking problems. Add to that the Jewish tone of the film, with almost every character making Yiddish references and all the various interactions giving a feel similar to how much the same everyone's attitude was in Fargo. Its that stylized quirk that the Coen's make work.

    I really enjoyed Michael Stuhlbarg's performance as Larry here. He was cast just right, making the character work in such a way where he wasn't whiny or overplayed as his physics professor/meek demeanor may suggest. I quite enjoyed all of the actors here actually.

    Then you have an ending, which for me, just worked. Its certainly handled in a way where some will walk out of the theater going, "what," but to me, just made the film even more interesting in the, "I will watch this again after I've thought about it for a while," kind of way.

    The film certainly wont have the repeated draw like No Country, among other Coen works have, but its one of the more interesting films I've seen this year.

    Sy Ableman: I think, really, the Jolly Roger is the appropriate course of action.
  • moonrivers
    October 28, 2009
    moonrivers
    the coen bros. usual point ad infinitum is that people are stupid (hey...that's like 99.9% of all stand-up!). herein they gratefully mark new trail, opining that a do-nothing life can be as dangerous to everyone as a stupid one. their hero, stuhlbarg, stumbles from one disaster...( read more) to the next (suburban jewry as interesting backdrop) wondering what he should do...but does nada. only when he decides to chance action does he (and we) feel anywhere near better.
  • bonasjsb
    October 27, 2009
    bonasjsb
    Definitely liked it, but I was hoping to love it. Not quite as good as I had expected. That said, the characters and scenes were hilarious. Sy Ableman is one of the classic Coen brothers characters. he is so easy to dislike that i loved watching it. The Korean student and hi...( read more)s father nearly made me cry, it was so funny. Adam Arkin was a scene stealer as Larry's lawyer. I do want to see it again very soon.
  • marylanenalyram
    October 24, 2009
    marylanenalyram
    Not so much potentially off putting to mainstream film audiences due to heavy Jewish culture but to heavy use of Fink-esque blending of the comedic, the haunting and the surreal.
    A great subtle dynamic between father Larry Gopnik and his son. They tie more so thematically than by...( read more) blood. The dual roles of the uncertainty principles he teaches and the uncertainty towards god's actions within the community are the two small figures on Larry's shoulder's. This is the stuff for school/film thread essays.
    super tempest
  • InfamousHugo
    October 24, 2009
    InfamousHugo
    A SERIOUS MAN (2009)
    dir. Joel & Ethan Coen
    cast. Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Sari Lennick

    You dont have to be a Jew to appreciate Joel and Ethan Coen's latest depiction of their own universe. Larry Gopnick is seriously a serious man, looking for the meaning of life

    ...( read more) when shit is piling up around him. Two weeks to go until his son's Barmitzvah; his wife wants to get a divorce - or a get - so she can remarry with a friend of the family; his brother, who sleeps on the couch, has problem with authorities; a Korean student tries to bribe him; one neighbor looks like a psychopath and the other is a sexy sex-addict. He has to ask Rabbis to figure all of this out.

    The Coens' vision in A Serious Man is similar to the one in Fargo, in the way that its sort of a caricature, but never makes fun, cause its based on people really close to them. The prologue is actually very interesting, I guess it tells some kind of Jewish story or legend, I dont know anything about any religion, but its all in Yiddish, very effective, and funny.

    One thing that makes this film work even better is the casting, mostly unknown by the general movie-going public. Michael Stuhlbarg in the lead is terrific, always on the edge of exploding in anger but keeping it all inside and being a sweet man. Behind all this craziness hides a more profound meaning. Another very good film from the Coen brothers.
  • allefra25
    October 24, 2009
    allefra25
    This movie was a superb combination of dark, depressing content and humor. This is quite obviously a black comedy - it starts off with this amusing yet haunting short that my seem unrelated to the rest of the movie as a whole but sets the tone as dark. There were a lot of scenes ...( read more)with dull lighting; this helped to accentuate the tone in a way that wasn't completely obvious and predictable. The fact of the matter was, there was light, it was dim, just like the hope that was out there, just seemingly unattainable. The darkness only came during the scenes at night with Larry and his brother Arthur, generally when Larry was trying to sleep and Arthur was crying or cleaning his "bloody cyst." Later on at the Jolly Rogers, where Larry's crazy wife Judith sent him and his brother, these nighttime scenes were juxtaposed with far more hopeful dream sequences that nevertheless always ended (comically) in disaster, namely the one dream that involved Larry taking Arthur to a lake so he could paddle to Canada. There were a TON of references to Judaism, in fact, the whole movie was arguably about Judaism - all of the principal characters were Jews, anyway. It's interesting how these people were committed to their faith, believing it to bring them answers and hope, even though it never did. It's something that can apply to all religions, not just Judaism. Larry seems reluctant to see a rabbi (or three) about his problems, but does it anyway because as a Jew, it is the logical thing to do. However, it's interesting that none of them give him answers, the second one even saying that we're not supposed to know the answers. These sequences were amongst the most amusing, but also helped to underline the fact that hope and answers are hard to find. The climax is when Larry Gopnik (great name)'s son Danny, who is kind of addicted to marijuana, attends his Bar Mitzvah stoned, and yet still manages to read the Torah convincingly and get applause from his family and the other attendees. Then, after, he goes to see the great Rabbi Marshak, a man whom everyone tells Larry is very, very wise. Danny goes and talks to him after he's had this ceremony that's very important and symbolic in a Jewish man's life, but all the Rabbi tells him is, basically, that he likes Jefferson Airplane, something they have in common but not exactly the spiritual wisdom one would think a Rabbi as great as Marshak is supposed to be would expouse! It was a funny scene, but one to me that just emphasized further that there are no answers in faith, and you shouldn't look to it for answers, for you will only be fooled and left wondering in the end. It was a very bleak conclusion that it lead me to. Before I get into the film's bleak conclusion, let me talk about for a second the character of Sy Ableman. He is probably going to go down as one of the more memorable characters of the Coen Brothers' filmography. He was so avuncular (thanks, Wikitionary) and benevolent on the surface, like some crazy optimistic relative who never, ever is unhappy to the point where you want to punch him in the stinkin' face. Then we find out that he actually deserves that punch in the face (I mean, asides from the fact that he was having an affair with Larry's wife) after he dies and Larry has a dream of him smashing his face into a wall and later finds out that it was he who sent those degrading letters to the tenure committee, his tenure meaning so much to him. Sy, deep down, is a terrible person, and even though he is "a serious man," one who is supposed to command respect, he is not a good man, not at all. And now, the ending. The ending, like the typical Coen Bros. ending, was ambiguous and inconclusive. Just as things are looking up for Larry - he receives hints that he's going to get tenure, y'know, things are starting to look a little more hopeful - he gets a call from his doctor about the x-rays he took in the beginning of the movie, hinting that there is something seriously wrong with him as they need to talk about them in person. This is, of course, a devastating blow to Larry. Then, instead of finding out what, exactly, is wrong with Larry, we find out that there is a giant tornado heading towards Danny's Hebrew school, and everyone must head to the basement, which the teacher struggles to unlock, leaving everyone to stand outside, waiting, while this beautifully ominous tornado heads toward them. The film ends with Danny, who finally has the money he owes the bully who's been chasing him the entire film, and the rest of his class staring at their impending doom. I was thinking the entire film, "Please don't kill these characters, please don't kill these characters," and so I was happy that they remained, well, alive for the entire film...and then we get to that ending, where we can only assume that they will die, and the Co' Bros. expect me to be happy with this? I found myself just staring in disbelief, thinking, "WHAT THE HECK IS THIS?! WHY CAN'T YOU EVER CONCLUDE A STORY?!" It was just SO much more grim than it needed to be...it made this already black comedy the blackest of black, the darkest of dark, the bleakest of bleak. So if you are a Jew who can stomach lots depression (and, because you are Jew, you probably can) as well as lots of humor and great cinematography and costumes and greatness in general, I would recommend to you this movie; just be forewarned that the ending is incredibly, needlessly dark and depressing, almost to the point where it brings this well-directed/acted/written/etc'd film down...but not quite there.
  • elisakitty
    October 24, 2009
    elisakitty
    Non si smentiscono mai, i fratelli Coen realizzano ancora un a volta un buon film, nel loro stile, questa volta molto più vicino a ciò che è la filosofia che trapela anche ne 'Il grande Lebowski' piuttosto che 'Non è un paese per vecchi' in cui sembrava di vedere più Tarantino ch...( read more)e i Coen. Geniali nella scelta di alcuni personaggi al limite dell'assurdo con scene che rasentano la follia, tuttavia è un lavoro più meditato più introspettivo e meno leggero dei precendenti. Il protagonista sbalzato qui e lì dai problemi della vita e dalle situazioni tragicomiche in cui si ritrova sembrerebbe alla fine essere sul punto di trovare un equilibrio e una sorta di serenità quando alla fine i problemi più grandi e seri stanno solo per arrivare. Lasciando lo spettatore con l'idea che la felicità è talmente breve e passeggera che la cosa migliore da fare è non porsi troppe domande e viversela. Infruttuosi tentativi di affidarsi alla religione e i modelli che la società impone di essere un brav'uomo scemano e emerge la filosofia fatalista dei fratelli coen in cui la comunità ebraica non ne esce senza dubbio con una buona immagine. Le frasi finali del terzo rabbino sono esilararti, sembrano rivelare la verità e non svelano nulla, come la storia del goy? Ha un senso? E il prologo del dybbuk (un'anima posseduta) in cui i dialoghi sono nell'antica lingua yiddish? Non me lo spiego. Da applauso la fotografia belle le inquadrature sfocate e il catapultarsi nell'epoca moderna con 'Somebody to love' che giunge all'orecchio del figli o del protagonista dall'auricolare della radio.
  • hobster1
    October 23, 2009
    hobster1
    Bleak does not even begin to describe Larry Gopnik's existence, a professor who seeks advice from three different rabbis after his rather unexceptional life unravels in every possible way. Undeniably well crafted film with some nuanced acting, is completely undone by the barrage...( read more) of misanthropic characters that populate the film. This dark, dark comedy is difficult to endure . An exercise in torture, it presents one oppressive event after another. Our feckless protagonist enjoys a few bright spots, but mostly his life, like this film, is a punishing chore.
  • buddyacker
    October 22, 2009
    buddyacker
    Another Coen Brothers movie? Let's see: I haven't seen "Burn After Reading" yet, but I want to, and this looks loads better than that. Hint, hint.
  • johnd62
    October 20, 2009
    johnd62
    Usually you'll see one of two types of films here the Coen brothers. The slapstick comedy with extremely dark undertones or the extremely dark and rather cold drama. Not this is a bad thing because they do both better then 98% of the filmmakers out there, just I don't think anyon...( read more)e can say that the Coens are guys who are the emotional type.
    This alone make "A Serious Man" a event for most filmgoers. The fact that the Coens strip down the layers of their reputation as filmmakers and expose that rare sense of insecurity and confusion and still have a masterly crafted that could be nothing but a Coen Brothers film proves just how gifted these guys really are.
    As I said it has all the touches of classic Coens, the Minnesota setting, Roger Deakins' mastery of the camera and the main protagonist is having a really terrible day.
    The poor bastard this time around is Larry Gopnik, played by Michael Stuhlbarg in what is a oscar worthy performance. As Stuhlbarg puts that human face on the many profound philosophical questions about God and life that arise in the film. Showcasing a subtle rage that is lost within a string of events as the film progresses. The rest of the cast filled with entirely unknowns is also quite solid and points must always be given to a film that understands a perfect use of music in a film. (The fact its Jefferson Airplane is the more impressive.)
    This is another one that I suspect will divide people when they first see it mostly because as you can expect from a Coen Brothers flick there are millions of questions, none with anything close to answer. (As though you can seriously answer Why God allows bad things to happen to good people.) However through multiple viewings I can only see "A Serious Man" getting better and better as you get caught in the Shakspeare plot and the film's dark but humane humor. Its that spellbinder of a film that you only see when a filmmaker has nothing more to prove but at the same time have everything to proof. This is a test that the Coens pass with flying colors.
  • cjws
    October 18, 2009
    cjws
    Add a review (optional)...As usual the Coen Brothers this time are very creative useing the Jewish household (lifestyle) as a tool to pursue the existential question -" why do people want answers from god when bad things happen to them". As the beginning scene illustrates, somet...( read more)imes the devil just "visits" your household. Why do bad things happen to good people? The main character does a continuos "why me" dance thru out the movie, as he goes from rabbi to rabbi seeking answers. Bad things happen because they just do in a balance with good things that happen to you in your life. Comically, the Rabbis have useless answers for him. As illustarated by the later scene with the elder respected rabbi that he begs to see, but only sees bar mitzva boys. When his son finally sees him for wordly advice, the rabbi quotes him lyrics from the Jefferson Aiirplane song. It's hilarious but it also proves the point --answers don't come from Dali Lama, rabbis, priests, etc. Good things happen, bad things happen, deal with it. The final scene with a tornado bearing down on his town, further stresses the point. What is more unpredictable, unfair, uncontrollable than a tornado? Life is like that. Sometime it just blows into your world and tears you apart.
  • jsbond008
    October 10, 2009
    jsbond008
    There is the ?you?re fucked and its your fault? camp to life and then there?s the ?I haven?t done anything? mentality. The Coen brother?s new classic plays on the latter. An ordinary jewish family man living in a small suburb in the late 60?s is to endure nothing but suffering an...( read more)d the audience is meant to pity him. A typical plot, yet executed in a way only the Coen brothers can, tying ever knot together and keeping the wit and candid humour ever present. The film also attacks the principles of jewish life, the religion and those involved in it and depicts the beliefs as mere questions answered, showing that to be jewish is to basically accept that ?whether or not the boss is right, he?s still the boss?. The main character is forced therefore, to believe In god wholeheartedly although it is the devil who is primarily controlling his life. A beautifully shot period piece, it is a film that leaves the viewer in a daze, questioning, answering or merely not doing anything, life after all is a tornado waiting to hit us in the face whether we have the money to pay up the bully or not.
  • Dracula787
    October 10, 2009
    Dracula787
    If in 2005, you?d asked me about the importance of the Coen brothers to the world of film, I probably would have sadly reported that they might have been on the road to irrelevance. After all, their 2004 remake of The Ladykillers was not well received, nor was their previous fil...( read more)m Intolerable Cruelty. Even the films they made earlier in the decade like The Man Who Wasn?t There and O Brother Where Art Thou? were by no means unmitigated triumphs. What a difference two years make. In the last two years the Coens have not only reclaimed their crown as American masters but have gone a step further. With their 2007 Oscar winner No Country For Old Men they made a taught thriller while pushing their aesthetic forward, and with their 2008 comedy Burn After Reading they proved that they could still make hilarious and accessible comedies while maintaining their dark sensibilities. I?ve always loved the Coens when they?re making broad comedy and dark thrillers; but their 2009 victory lap A Serious Man takes the form of that third type of film they?ve made throughout their careers, quirky/metaphorical dramedies, and that?s the side of their oeuvre I?ve never quite been able to close the deal on.

    Set (and setting is never an unimportant detail in the work of the Coen brothers) in a Minnesota suburb circa 1967, A Serious Man sings the ballad of Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a Jewish professor of theoretical physics. Gopnik is up for tenure as the film begins and his son will soon be undergoing his Bar Mitzvah, but he soon finds himself in the middle of an existential crisis. Gopnik?s brother Arthur (Richard Kind) seems to be deep in some shady dealings and has come to live with Larry. Worse yet, Gopnik?s wife Judith (Sari Lennick) tells him that she?s been seeing another man named Sy Ableman (Fred Melamed) and that she wants a Get (a divorce within ?the faith?). If that weren?t enough, he?s having a moral crisis over how to handle a Korean student who has left him an envelope of cash in order to receive a passing grade and he?s been getting threatening calls from the Columbia Record Club. As the movie goes on, these troubles seem less and less like coincidences and more and more like a series of tests from ?Hashem.?

    The Coen Brothers have always been an auteurist?s dream; they?ve had an incredibly distinct yet oddly adaptable style that absolutely envelopes everything they touch, at times almost to a fault. Fitting this film into the Coens? body of work is one of its bigger pleasures. The film?s Minnesota setting will immediately invite comparisons to Fargo, but that?s a red herring, this film?s depiction of that setting is pretty different and its story is less literally blood soaked. Narratively I?d probably compare it to The Man Who Wasn?t There in that it?s about an ordinary man whose world collapses around him, tonally I?d probably compare it to the dead faced Miller?s Crossing, but the movie I?d most readily compare it to is Barton Fink both in its surrealism and in its spiritual overtones.

    As such the film will probably fit pretty well into the Coen cannon, but its real gift to those analyzing the Coens as auteurs is much richer. This is a very personal film for the Coens, as it depicts the place where their odd, subdued psyches formed, as such this could be something of a Rosetta Stone for their sensibilities. The suburb here is unnamed, but it is presumably the Coens? hometown of St. Louis Park, an old inner-ring suburb west of Minneapolis. The place has a very large Jewish population that lives among the town?s otherwise gentile Midwestern inhabitants. As I am myself a Minneapolis resident, I can attest that this is indeed a pretty detailed an accurate depiction of the area, although a lot has changed since 1967. St. Louis Park doesn?t look as desolate now as it does in the movie (which was actually filmed in a suburb called Bloomington), but there still is a pretty large Jewish population there. Less important than the look are the mannerisms and the details, which rang a lot more true here than they did in Fargo, a film in which everyone seemed to talk like they came straight out of a bad Ole and Lena joke.

    All this meticulous setting detail isn?t just window dressing either; it serves to explain a lot of the main characters psychological state. Larry Gopnik is made to feel like an outsider in this suburb filled with mowed lawns and gruff gentiles who play catch and go hunting. His knowledge of Physics seems to mostly go unrewarded (he says he?s never published) and he?s only got three mostly unhelpful Rabbis to turn to during his crisis of faith. Gopnik?s nebbishy tendencies might have served him better in New York where he could have made friends with Woody Allen or something, but here he?s pretty much on his own. Also interesting is the effect the setting has on his children, particularly his son Danny (Aaron Wolff) who is most likely a stand in for the Coens. The summer of love exists only on the radio for Danny and he?s pretty aggressively uninterested both in his father?s travails and in the faith that makes him an outsider. One can picture him eventually getting bored enough to pick up a guitar to imitate the Jefferson Airplane music he?s always listening to, or if film had been his area of interest, perhaps a video camera.

    Philosophically, the film addresses the age old question of why bad things happen to good people. That?s never really been a concern to secular thinkers like myself, but to people like Larry Gopnik who feel they are under the protection of a benevolent God, it is a conundrum.

    Many have seen the film as having been based on the book of Job, and I will not disagree, in fact there are images toward the end of the film which all but confirm the connection. Essentially, Larry is subject to every cruel unpleasantly that the Coens can throw at him, but he puts up with it all because of his faith and his passive aggressive nature. I?m no theologian so I?m not going to comment on this too much; but I?m pretty sure that the Coens have changed the story?s ending to cynical effect, and that I like.

    Some have said that the Coens have used celebrities as a crutch as of late, something this film will never be accused of as this film is pretty much devoid of them. The cast here is for the most part solid but anonymous, many of them being never before seen on film. Michael Stuhlbarg is quite strong in the lead; he manages to walk the fine line of nebbish stereotype, always falling just on the right side, and as his desperation grows he?s able to perfectly panic while trying desperately to internalize as much as he can. Richard Kind is probably the most recognizable face in the whole film, and he brings a pretty good presence to the whole thing. Similarly, Fred Melamed brings a real ?that guy? presence to the film. If those names aren?t obscure enough for you, the Coens have also filled the movie with people who?ve never been in a movie before like Sari Lennick, Aaron Wolff, and David Kang who fit in right alongside the anonymous veterans.

    Had this film come out in 2005 (in the wake of the Ladykillers debacle) it probably would have been called a return to form, coming out 2009 it?s more like a return to weirdness. In spite of all the film?s many merits, this is simply a movie that is almost smothered in the Coens usual quirks and it will probably baffle anyone who isn?t a diehard Coen veteran. Coen films are almost never ?for everyone? and this one is even more ?not for everyone? than usual, and I?m not sure it was ?for me.? This is a film that is hard to truly like but almost impossible not to respect.
  • dusthansen
    October 10, 2009
    dusthansen
    Way funnier than you think it is. And it's a damn fine "slice of life" movie. If you're dealing with personal problems of any sort, this movie could be cathartic for you. Great script.
  • jaishankar
    October 5, 2009
    jaishankar
    Add a review (optional)...
  • smootysveen
    October 5, 2009
    smootysveen
    Embrace the mystery.
  • gregrmurphy
    October 5, 2009
    gregrmurphy
    Coens back in head-scratching mode (Barton Fink in the burbs?), but then again they do that better than just about anyone. And judging by the audience response, real-life Minnesota Jews seemed to dig it as well. Or at least Minnesota people-who-understand-fairly-obscure-Jewish-re...( read more)ferences.

Summary

A Serious Man Summary