A Serious Man Review

Of all of the nominations for Best Picture this year, the Coen Brothers have managed to bring us the most confusing of them. Maybe it's just because the movie's jewish. A Serious Man, which takes place in 1967, focuses on Larry Gopnik, a Jewish father and husband whose life suddenly goes into turmoil. His wife surprisingly leaves him for another man, his brother is arrested for gambling, and he's in the process of being sued for not passing a Korean student's midterm. Joel and Ethan Coen certainly have no problem dealing with racial sensitivity, albeit with a slightly dark sense of humor. While trying to find answers to all his problems, Larry goes to see three Rabbis, hoping to be told what to do next.

It's very crude to sum up a film in such a potentially offensive sentence, but the Coen Brothers have crafted the most Jewish movie ever made. It's so deeply stemmed in the Hebrew culture that it is apprehensive to explain too many of the jewish traditions such as a "Gett" or "Aguna" or whatever the hell a "dybbuk" is. The film is vaguely relatable, even to people who aren't jewish, because odds are they know someone who is jewish. I believe that everyone has a Larry Gopnik in their life, and it's so interesting and hillarious to see his life turn to chaos. It's such an easily controversial film that the Coens would not be allowed to make if they didn't win an academy award two years ago for No Country for Old Men.

It's amazingly put together, superbly written, and Michael Stuhlbarg's performance is magnificent. The problem is that you are left confused quite a bit of the time. The film feels like it was made strictly for the Coen Brothers' enjoyment. I respect the film on so many levels for going to where it did, but at the same time I'm unwilling to say that it's a film that I'd see again. I may very well take another look at it down the road, but for now, I'm fine. It only took one viewing for the film to leave its imprint on me, unlike some films that I kept going to see, trying to feel something that ultimately wasn't there (Avatar). My grade for A Serious Man is A-.