A Serious Man

"A Serious Man"
Starring: Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Fred Melamed, Aaron Wolff, Sari Lennick
Grade: A

The latest film by Joel and Ethan Coen appears to be their most personal work yet. A Serious Man takes place in the conservative suburbs of Minnesota in 1967 where physics professor and father, Larry Gopnik is trying to hold together the growing angst of his heavily Jewish family. An opening prologue introduces us to yet another unusual tale of morals and chance the film will heavily mirror.

Unknown and clean cut actor Michael Stuhlbarg plays the troubled protagonist, who's life begins to spiral away from him when his wife informs him that they must separate due to her affair with a man named Sy Ableman, a grizzly-bearded man who tries to convince Larry that everything in time will be okay. Larry is baffled at his simplicity, and earnestness in light of the devastating circumstances. Sy offers hugs and reason, while Larry begins to crumble. Larry has two teenage kids, a boy who is on the verge of his bar mitzvah, and a girl who is annoyed at her inability to spend time grooming herself in the bathroom due to Larry's loafing brother Arthur. The son listens to Jefferson Airplane song that serves as a footnote to the film, and experiments with pot in order to escape the boredom of his Hebrew schooling.

As Larry begins to question his life, things go from bad to worse in a Coen-esque way. Larry begins to seek out Rabbi's that will instruct and point him in the right way. Some are too busy "thinking" to meet with Larry, while others offer him stories that he may be able to relate to. No such luck arises for this honest and decent man, who has been forced to leave his house and move into a meager motel with his moping, and all the while mysterious brother.

The film is based and rooted in the ideals and traditions of Jewish folk. The Coen's poke fun at their own background often, as the films characters possess many humorous stares, coughs, names, and ticks. While some may feel the audience is left out of the joke, this is not the case with A Serious Man, which does its best job of letting the non-Jewish audience relate to the 60's Jewish culture by examining there own.

While the film is certainly a black comedy at heart, the Coen's decorate the film with an extra coating of foreboding, and a haunting tone that is only hinted at in some of their earlier work. While the narrative may come across as a boring exercise in satire to many, there is much to appreciate other than the brilliant script. The cast fits the film perfectly, as many Broadway and unknown actors flourish with their roles.

Outside of this review and the films trailer, there will be many perks in going into this film fresh. The Coen's are at their bizarre and witty best, as they've crafted another modern American gem which will resonate beyond this year. The film feels like a mish-mash of there filmography, throw No Country for Old Men, Barton Fink and Fargo into a blender and out comes A Serious Man. Many critics have taken note of the film's haunting final image, which may serve as an understatement. I caution viewers, if you hated the ending to No Country for Old Men, call me and I'll tell you when to leave this movie.