Catch next week’s Coen Brothers Film Experience entry on Wednesday, November 4th: Barton Fink

I swear to god, as the trailers ended and the audience awaited the distribution and production titles attached to the movie, an utter subtle excitement fell across the theater. No joke, I felt like I was at a midnight premiere showing for the next “Transformers” or the eventual follow-up to “The Dark Knight”.

This is what Coen Brothers movies have become. They are essentially the summer blockbusters of niche and genre films. This is not a surprise since nearly every single one of their films since 1984’s “Blood Simple” have become cult classics, admired in one way or another by cinephiles everywhere.

To say “A Serious Man” is simply the next magnum opus in their library of work is a fact but at the same time doesn’t do the movie as much justice as it deserves. ‘Man’ is an immensely entertaining parable that explores the mystery, uncertainty, and confusion of Judaism.

Hit the jump for my take on “A Serious Man”.


“A Serious Man” follows Larry Gopnik (played by the very J.J. Abrams looking, relative newcomer Michael Stuhlbarg) as he deals with the complexities of life, which, in his case include a brother that won’t leave home (Richard Kind), a wife looking for a divorce (Sari Lennick), an impending tenure position at his University, and a South Korean student that challenges all kinds of logic.

That’s it. That’s the movie.

But wait, it’s a Coen Brothers film. So what does that mean?

Well, for starters, we get the classic Coen pacing with superbly edited scenes and sound effects running into each other to heighten the dramatic effect. There are scenes scattered throughout the movie where one conflict after another get presented to Larry and, to mirror his increasing confusion as to why anything is happening, an excellent use of sound effects add that something extra that creates helps convey his loss of control. Soup slurps, tire squeals, knocking on doors, a well timed “I’m in here!” by Uncle Arthur, all of these strung together, at exactly the right time help mimic the sense of anxiety felt by the main character.

**Attention minor spoilers coming. Skip to the Bottom Line if you want to avoid them.**

The thing that really gets me though, beyond the edits and sounds, with “A Serious Man” is the actual source of this anxiety. The movie is not meant to be the story of Larry Gopnik dealing with these relatively unrelated life problems. It’s the story of Larry Gopnik trying to understand and deal with these problems within the framework of the Jewish faith. While his life gets more and more confusing, he ends up visiting three Rabbis. The overarching theme of the film ends up being perfectly described by the second one he visits: Rabbi Nachtner (George Wyner). When the Rabbi recounts a story that does nothing but confuse Larry further, he asks, “What does that have to do with anything?”. To which the Rabbi answers, “Just accept the mystery.” In essence saying ‘it has nothing to do with your problem’. This mystery and uncertainty plays throughout the film. The opening scene, the mysterious credits, the multiple parables (“Is the cat alive or is the cat dead?”), and finally the Jefferson Airplane quote uttered by the most unlikely of characters. All of it supporting the notion that one can’t rely on stories and parables to solve life problems. You have to help yourself.

Its when Larry realizes this inadvertently by trying to help his brother that it became clear to me that Michael Stuhlbarg deserves to be recognized for his performance in this movie – no matter if it’s a Golden Globe, a SAG award, or an Oscar. His ability to portray his character in each stage of the downward spiral, while at the same time, keeping up with the Coen pacing and attention to comedy virtually assures him of a well deserved win.

There isn’t much I can say against “A Serious Man”. It’s clearly not for everyone, and I can pretty much guarantee that not everyone that sees it will like it or even enjoy it. However, that’s part of the Coen territory – if you didn’t like this one, chances are you’ll like the next one. Even though each of their films share many characteristics, the Brothers are able to jump from genre to genre without batting an eye or risking the quality of their art.

Bottom Line: 5/5. If you like movies, Coen or not, you need to give “A Serious Man” a shot. Michael Stuhlbarg playing Larry is amazing plus the Coen Brothers’ exploration of Judaism as a confusing and mysterious faith is at the same time tasteful, hilarious and overall extremely entertaining. Well worth the time spent and the price of admission to experience it.

Want to see the trailer? See it on Apple!

What did you think of “A Serious Man”? Did I get any parts of the theme right? Did I miss anything? Leave your comments below or find me on Twitter!

And with this, after four films viewed for the Coen Brothers Film Experience, here is the list of films in the order of my liking:

1. A Serious Man (2009)
2. Miller’s Crossing (1990)
3. Blood Simple (1984)
4. Raising Arizona (1987)