Movie Review: A Serious Man

As I mentioned in a previous post the Coen Brothers are a couple of my favorite directors of all time. Big Lebowski, Millers Crossing, No Country for Old Men, Fargo, O' Brother Where Art Thou are some of my favorites that they are responsible for, so I was really excited to check out their latest film "A Serious Man".

Let's just say I was in no way disappointed with this film, even though to say that it is a little depressing would be an understatement. This film I guess could be described as a dark comedy with an emphasis on the dark. The film follows a physics professor Larry Gopnik, whom you could say is going through a rough patch. Larry has been informed by his wife that she is leaving him for one of his friends, he is being black mailed by one of his students for a passing grade, his kids are brats in every sense of the word and are stealing from him, his older brother is a social retard and is living off of him, and to add to the that he is due to make tenure at the university and the stress is eating him alive. Being a physics instructor Larry understands the world through a series of proofs, a given action will have a re-action, and everything can be explained through mathematics. But as we all know fate is often cruel and this movie really looks at that duality. How can we find answers in a world that typically just leaves you asking more questions? What role does god play in controlling the cruel fate that so many of us receive? What part does our moral behavior play in with the fate that our god has for us? These are some of the questions that are raised by this off the wall film.

First of all the film making like always is top notch. This is a very personal film, in which I think each viewer will take something much different away from it. However I think most will agree that the look and feel of this movie is vintage Coen Bros. This film is set in the early 70's and after watching for 30 minutes you will feel like you know these people all to well. The characters themselves are all well written almost stereotypical when you think about a Jewish family. The script is also very well done, as I laughed out loud on several occasions even though this is far from your standard comedy.

I have a lot of thoughts about the meaning of this film, but I really do not want to touch on that because i feel like many of the people that read this blog have probably yet to see this film. The ending may leave a lot of people unsatisfied because this story is not told like a typical Hollywood story would be told. Just when you think the lead character is going to figure out what vexes him, we are left with more uncertainty. However as in life, not everything is meant to be figured out, and some outcomes are so bleak that understanding why probably wont give you the closure you are searching for. In my opinion this film looks at fate in a new light, and adds in some comedy, and some great film making in the process. You may think it is one of the worst movies you have seen in a while, or you may be like me and have it grow on you. How many out there like Big Lebowski the first time you saw it? In my opinion this is some of the Coen Bros most interesting work, like it or hate it.