A Serious Man. Why So Serious?

Amongst the great American filmmakers, one team that never fails to stand out and surprise their audience, be it with laughter, disgust, frustration or applause, is the duo of Joel and Ethan Coen. Famous for such films as Fargo, Barton Fink, The Big Lebowski, and their Academy Award® winning No Country For Old Men, the brothers Coen return to the cinema with A Serious Man, one of their most mature, funny, and unconventional pictures to date, and while it may not be a major hit with the mainstream, it is one of the more memorable pictures of the year.

Mildly reflecting the Coen’s Jewish suburban Minnesota lifestyle, A Serious Man takes place in the late 1960s, where meek college physics professor Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) is having what he would call a “mid-life crisis.” Based on what happens to him in the film, the rest of us in the real world would call it a “apocalypse.” Mirroring a series of events similar to the story of Job, Larry is constantly tested in his faith when his whole world comes crashing down. His wife leaves him for the dreaded Sy Abelman, his son is a pot head, his daughter wants a nose job, his tenure is in question, his sick brother can’t stay out of the law’s way, his bills are piling up, and he is simultaneously being black-mailed and bribed by a student in his class. Is all this a test from God? Why do bad things happen to good people? Can he get an answer from a rabbi (or three)? Unfortunately for Larry, the Coen Bros. are the angry Gods punishing him, and as in all their classic dark comedies, the protagonist endures quite a lot before those end credits roll in.

While by no means a blockbuster, the film itself is quite hilarious, despite all the harrowing mishaps that Larry gets thrown at him. Michael Stuhlberg (a Tony Award winning stage actor in his first major role) plays Larry like George Costanza with a conscience. Despite being a complete push-over, the amount of abuse that he takes makes him an enduring and tragic character. His son Danny (Aaron Wolf), suffers in many similar ways at his school, and the parallels that both father and son endure while being nearly completely unaware of each other’s hardships is a funny and misfortunate. Danny manages to cope better than his father does, escaping with F Troop, getting stoned out of his mind at his Bar Mitzvah, and Jefferson Airplane (“Somebody To Love” is essentially the theme song for the film). Despite all the wild decisions that only a teenage can make, he ends up in a better place than his father...until the tornado storm of an ending.

Despite the strong performances, wonderful cinematography (by long time Coen collaborator Roger Deakins), and its hilariously grim humor, the ending is what is going to divide audiences. The Coens, over their last few films, have developed a trademark for the unconventional ending. While this can be a turn-off to many, it is a parallel to the sheer sense of uncertainty that Larry faces in his life, searching for the answers that we all ask ourselves and will never know the answers to. “Hashem doesn’t owe us anything,” a rabbi tells Larry. Frankly, neither do the Coens. They tell it like they see it, and while it is frustrating, they are making their point. It is a film that will stay in your mind, whether you love it or hate it, for days on end.

3.5 out of 5 Stars

Written by Jeffrey Butler