Review of A Serious Man (2009) by Raji K — 27 Jan 2017

The Coen Brothers present their latest film, A Serious Man. Michael Stuhlbarg is Larry Gopnik, a physics teacher which two kids and a wife. He is on the verge of making tenure, and his son is getting ready for his bar mitzvah everything seems to be looking up. This seems to be collapsing however when his wife announces she wants to divorce him, kick him out of the house and leave him for a much older man. His brother is in trouble and has the law after him. A Korean student attempts to bribe him for a non-failing grade, and he the troubles keeping piling on.

As all of these events occur Gopnik seems to have his life spiraling out of control all because of circumstances that are beyond his control. He turns to his faith, he turns to his family, and even to his neighbors, but none of them seem to really offer a way out any of his troubles. More events such as bills, funerals, and gambling debts have Gopnik's need for money piling up.

A serious man is a for lack of a better words, a serious comedy from the Coen brothers. The film is not one of the goofier or slapstick comedies such as Miller's Crossing, Hail Caesar or O Brother Where Art Thou. The film is not as dark or morbid as Fargo. The film does still have many characteristics of Coen Brothers films. Many of their films feature characters that seem to have events occur to them out of nowhere with no cause or reason for it. There is a mysterious rabbi that is similar to the mysterious boss that was in the comedy Intolerable Cruelty. A serious man really is a tough film to gauge, and it does not particularly stand out among so many of films they have made. I am certain that because I am not particularly familiar with the Jewish culture, I did miss up on several comedic references throughout the film. Void of violence and extreme measures make this film a change of pace for the Coen Brothers, but this film does not leave much to hang its hat on. A serious man is overall a good film, but not a film that can really be recommended even though it is a better film than many of their other comedies. Stuhlbarg does a good job leading a pretty unrecognizable cast, and perhaps bigger names would have been the only thing that would have warranted granting this movie a bigger audience. I certainly was surprised to see the film nominated for best picture and best writing, but this film does have somewhat of that sophisticated feel to it that the Oscars typically clamor for.

-1.27.2017.