A Serious Man – Film Review
A Serious Man is a 2009 dramedy written, directed and produced by the Coen Brothers. Set in 1967, the film focuses on Larry Gopnik, an ordinary man living in suburbia trying to find balance in his unbalanced life, and wondering why such chaos has erupted to such a good man.
The Coen brothers are known for creating cult comedies with melancholy twists like Fargo, The Big Lebowski and O Brother, Where Art Thou?; and A Serious Man is no exception, aside from the fact it sides more with drama than comedy. The premise of A Serious Man is hard to define as it is so simple, to a point that people may not give it the time of day, but those who know the Coen brothers and what they manage to conjour up will know that there’s more to this gem than meets the eye.
Like their previous successes, the Coen’s have created another lovable hero, this time its Larry Gopnick, a middle-aged Jewish man living in 60′s suburbia in Minneapolis. Similar to Burn After Reading heroine, Linda Litzke, Larry’s main want is simple, for life to return to normal. But Larry want doesn’t come easy leaving him to face numerous (useless) Rabbis, a divorce from his wife Judith and a South Korean student who won’t accept his F grade, causing him to bribe and even sue his own professor! So this seems like a story of an average man living an normal average life, yes. But thanks to its excellent, unknown cast; great cinematography and editing; and exceptional writing, the Coen Brothers have created one of the best movies of the decade, and their own personal best since Fargo and No Country for Old Men.
Micahel Stuhlbarg gives a stellar performance as Larry. Coming from a dominantly stage background, Stuhlbarg crafts the character beautifully, using every moment of screen time to hypnotise the audience to feel his pain, and to sympathise with him as he battles through day-to-day life. He’s gold, and the fact he is an unknown actor establishes him as “The Serious Man” and has opened the gateway to Hollywood; shame it was so late into his career. The rest of the cast were also fantastic and have also benchmarked themselves for Hollywood success.
Yes it may seem boring watching a Jewish man find out why his life is shit, but Joel and Ethan’s latest addition to their treasure chest of gold is their maturest yet and is relatable on all levels, whether it be a divorce, a search for a reliable rabbi or a son smoking marijuana on his Bar Mitzvah! Top notch stuff from the flawless Coen Brothers! Bring on the Oscar nominations!
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