And the rabbis he visits for advice only dole out platitudes. As we say in Yiddish, he is a mentsch, a good person who tries to do the right thing. And it’s on you, of course. It is 1967, and Larry Gopnik, a physics professor at a quiet Midwestern university, has just been informed by his wife Judith that she is leaving him. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? don @ minifie-1. very hard to even try to comprehend the story (especially the beginning). They were on to something with this film but decided to take the easy way out and leave the topic barely scratched. The story is at once hilarious and horrific, its significance both self-evident and opaque. But I’ll try interpreting it a little bit, anyway. Written by The first time I saw it I thought it was just another a weird Coen Brothers movie. . It's a comedy with deeply serious undertones, not the other way around. But both Arthur and Larry get turfed out into a motel when Larry's wife Judy, who wants a divorce, moves her lover, Sy, into the house and even after Sy's death in a car crash they are still there. Unlike the nihilists, however, Larry has faith: he is a conscientious Jew and tries to be a serious man. Rated R for language, some sexuality/nudity and brief violence, Look for ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ to get some love from guilds for period details, The Vigil Acquired by IFC Midnight, Release Planned for February 26th, 2021, IFC Midnight Picks Up Supernatural Horror Movie ‘The Vigil’. It is 1967, and Larry Gopnik, a physics professor at a quiet Midwestern university, has just been informed by his wife Judith that she is leaving him. Maybe the Coens' best work. A SERIOUS MAN Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen . It is 1967, and Larry Gopnik (Tony Award nominee Michael Stuhlbarg), a physics professor at a quiet Midwestern university, has just been informed by his wife Judith (Sari Lennick) that she is leaving him. Ask Your Own Question A Serious Man is an exquisitely realized work; the filmmakers’ technical mastery of their craft, always impressive, has become absolute. A Serious Man is the story of an ordinary man’s search for clarity in a universe where Jefferson Airplane is on the radio and F-Troop is on TV. This seriously funny movie, artfully photographed by the great Roger Deakins, is spiritual in nature, barbed in tone, and, oh, yeah, it stings like hell. I think the Coen brothers have gotten lazy. A Serious Man If you're married with kids you WILL get this picture. No need to waste time endlessly browsing—here's the entire lineup of new movies and TV shows streaming on Netflix this month. Yes, ti's bleak but it's SO funny and subtle while being genuinely moving and affecting. Other films have broached the Coens’ Jewishness, such as The Big Lebowski and Miller’s Crossing , but none have … Gopnik can fill all the blackboards he wants, and it won't do him any good. Not being able to figure anything out. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Larry Gopnik, a Midwestern physics teacher, watches his life unravel over multiple sudden incidents. If they had dug a little deeper, taken a few more risks and been willing to possibly offend some religious people, then this film could have soared. Though seeking meaning and answers amidst his turmoils, he seems to keep sinking. Was this review helpful to you? —Rashi FADE IN: SNOWFLAKES FALLING IN BLACK The flakes drift lazily down toward us. Bloomington, Minnesota, 1967: Jewish physics lecturer Larry Gopnik is a serious and a very put-upon man. In fact, the whole movie has men who are wise, who laugh at their fate, who do good things, and women who, one way or another, stick the knife in you.And who (or what) is the dybbuk here? Still God moves in mysterious - and not always pleasant - ways, as Larry and his family will find out. Though seeking meaning and answers amidst his turmoils, he seems to keep sinking. (For us, at least.). Very entertaining for people familiar with jewish culture. I felt the guy's pain! The ending will leave many people talking and it isn't appropriate to do that here, except to say that in some ways it leaves you thinking so hard you may read more into the events than is really there.Or not. His daughter is stealing from him to save up for a nose job, his pot-head son, who gets stoned at his own bar-mitzvah, only wants him round to fix the TV aerial and his useless brother Arthur is an unwelcome house guest. An original and darkly humorous story from Directors Joel and Ethan Coen about one ordinary man's quest to become a serious man. When a childless couple of an ex-con and an ex-cop decide to help themselves to one of another family's quintuplets, their lives become more complicated than they anticipated. Serious men tend to be the kind of people who enforce authoritarian governments or proclaim that things should be judged in terms of their “usefulness.” For outsiders--goys--A Serious Man is an indoctrination, a can opener to an ethnic world with deep roots (Eastern European in this case), great integrity, and many internal (modern) conflicts. The HFPA revealed its Golden Globe nominations on Tuesday morning, and... Hurt's So Good: More Critics Lock on to "Locker". A Serious Man (Coen Brothers, 2009) This is one of the richest, deepest, saddest, most mysterious movies ever made. Some of the acting is amazing, Michael Stuhlbarg playing the line between tragedy and farce in every scene, and the filming is expert without ever drawing attention to itself. With lawyers' bills mounting for his divorce, Arthur's criminal court appearances and a land feud with a neighbour Larry is tempted to take the bribe offered by a student to give him an illegal exam pass mark. ", Title: The surrealism sprinkled throughout is just smart movie-making, keeping it from becoming a deep, ironic, and serious movie. Please enter your birth date to watch this video: You are not allowed to view this material at this time. A Serious Man seems designed to baffle, but it actually lingers long after its small, sly jokes and plot complications finish. The cast is spot-on and the story is intricate with a very articulate and witty script. Non-jews will not get much of the humor. If they had dug a little deeper, taken a few more risks and been willing to possibly offend some religious people, then this film. Yet, scenes and lines from the movie kept replaying in my mind, leading me to either laugh out loud at a funny line (of which there are many) or stare at the wall trying to figure out what the hell it all meant. 101 of 181 people found this review helpful. Certainly the first scene, if it is some metaphor for all the follows, is both trenchant and disturbing, more Babel than Singer, but perhaps (perhaps) frightening in its misogyny. A Serious Man had me gripped from the first frames, and the film conjures a woozy, weightless feeling, combined with an almost hallucinatory clarity and heightened sense of itself. But both Arthur and Larry get turfed out into a motel when Larry's wife Judy, who wants a divorce, moves her lover, Sy, into the house and even after Sy's death in a car crash they are still there. And made well, brilliant from start to finish. View production, box office, & company info. Or is it larger, about the meaning of Judaism period, on a worldly level? Academy Award®-winning directors Joel and Ethan Coen return to their comedy roots with this original and darkly humorous story about one ordinary man’s quest to become a serious man. Bloomington, Minnesota, 1967: Jewish physics lecturer Larry Gopnik is a serious and a very put-upon man. and to the Cohen Brothers......COME ON. His daughter is stealing from him to save up for a nose job, his pot-head son, who gets stoned at his own bar-mitzvah, only wants him round to fix the TV aerial and his useless brother Arthur is an unwelcome house guest. And the rabbis he visits for advice only dole out platitudes. About the clash between rationalism and superstition (or faith). A Serious Man is the Coens' 14th feature and will most likely provide no solace whatsoever to the brother’s critics. A movie with humor and pathos, funny lines and ultimately no conclusion. "The fun of the story for us," they crow in the notes for this loathsome movie, "was inventing new ways to torture Larry.". Those can be funny too. The punch line is a little different, but you know the joke. They were on to something with this film but decided to take the easy way out and leave the topic barely scratched. Another So it’s with much satisfaction we can report that A Serious Man is a suburban dysfunctional-family drama-cum-metaphysical mystery. Or larger still, is it simply a movie, like Do the Right Thing or My Big Fat Greek Wedding or any of thousands of others, about life, and love, and the struggling of one person against the woes of the world as he or she faces them, in their own context?Or is it a comedy, a really funny comedy, making fun, having fun, and rising above the tawdry enough to remind everyone, Jewish or not, of the need we all have for community and connection and continuity. At the conclusion of their new movie, “A Serious Man,” the Coen brothers pull off a neat little joke. She has fallen in love with one of his more, A Serious Man is the story of an ordinary man’s search for clarity in a universe where Jefferson Airplane is on the radio and F-Troop is on TV. (with a little interest) it was hard to understand what they were saying. A Serious Man Questions and Answers. 17 wins & 78 nominations. A Serious Man is a 2009 black comedy-drama film written, produced, edited and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. A Serious Man (2009)Such a vivid recreation of late 1960s suburban America is a remarkable enough basis for a movie, making the real meat of the thing almost transcendent. Unfortunately got put off the scent by David Denby's review in the NYer... NEVER AGAIN... he's dead to me. I felt the guy's pain! If. Was Sy writing the derogative letters to the tenure board? Academy Award-winning directors Joel and Ethan Coen return to their comedy roots with this original and darkly humorous story about one ordinary man's quest to become a serious man. In this case, that language is Yiddish, as our hapless protagonist Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) looks to Judaism and the world of the synagogue in order to try and make sense of his rapidly unraveling life. What is the best film directed by the Coen brothers? It proves we can't ever really know... what's going on. As the year comes to a close, we present the top TV shows of 2020, including "Money Heist" and "The Mandalorian. Pure crap. A disk containing mysterious information from a CIA agent ends up in the hands of two unscrupulous and daft gym employees who attempt to sell it. Use the HTML below. Have I mentioned A Serious Man is so rich and funny? Maybe because an ancestor invited a … The same could be said of most of the Coen brothers’ movies, in which human existence and the attempt to find meaning in it are equally futile, if also sometimes a lot of fun. A comedy of discomfort -- and one of their (Coen brothers) best, most insightful and most provocative films. There are no definitive answers. He became a young man the 1950s – a few short years after World War II and the … In the deep south during the 1930s, three escaped convicts search for hidden treasure while a relentless lawman pursues them. A Hollywood fixer in the 1950s works to keep the studio's stars in line. Just like the other Coen Brothers favorite "O Brother Where are Thou" is a very clever satire based upon Homer's Odessey, "A Serious Man is the story of Job, a righteous man … The serious man dedicates his life and energies to some cause, values, or “idol” that he considers absolutely good, and for which he is willing to sacrifice absolutely anything. She has fallen in love with one of his more. After a deeply weird Yiddish folk-tale prologue set in 19th-century Poland (and framed in the old 1.33:1 format), the picture shifts to the region and era of the Coens' own upbringing, a Minneapolis suburb in 1967. Metacritic User Poll: Vote for the Best of 2020! I hesitate to suggest that this is now my favorite C-Bros film. I found this beautifully crafted movie to be frequently hilarious, consistently surprising and rigged with spring-loaded narrative bombs, from its opening scene to its devastating final shot. Yes, ti's bleak but it's SO funny and subtle while being genuinely moving and affecting. Academy Award-winning directors Joel and Ethan Coen return to their comedy roots with this original and darkly humorous story about one ordinary man's quest to become a serious man. It's just as funny as last year's Burn After Reading, although some of the comedy is more intellectual. Really. The film has a bleak side, which predominates - there are no answers - and a hilarious side, with some good laughs. The always surprising Coen brothers have finally made a very serious movie with A Serious Man. Not just hilarious, but quite haunting. The owner of a seedy small-town Texas bar discovers that one of his employees is having an affair with his wife. And, as is always the case, the story takes its share of sudden, unexpected turns - usually as a result of deaths. © 2020 METACRITIC, A RED VENTURES COMPANY. This film will stick with you long after the credits roll. This isn't a laugh-laugh movie, but a wince-wince movie. Job. A naive business graduate is installed as president of a manufacturing company as part of a stock scam. Larry Gopnik is a serious man. Still God moves in mysterious - and not always pleasant - ways, as Larry and his family will find out. With lawyers' bills mounting for his divorce, Arthur's criminal court appearances and a land feud with a neighbour Larry is tempted to take the bribe offered by a student to give him an illegal exam pass mark. Our angle looks straight up. Synopsis : 1967. A Serious Man ( 2009) A Serious Man. Six tales of life and violence in the Old West, following a singing gunslinger, a bank robber, a traveling impresario, an elderly prospector, a wagon train, and a perverse pair of bounty hunters. In their latest film, A Serious Man, the Coens once again are steeping themselves in language. The second time I had an epiphany! A Serious Man Questions and Answers. (2009). So it shouldn't bother you. The cast is spot-on and the story is intricate with a very articulate and witty script. I recognized everything here from my own childhood--everything except everything Jewish.And that's the point, taken well. Summary: A Serious Man is the story of an ordinary man’s search for clarity in a universe where Jefferson Airplane is on the radio and F-Troop is on TV. A Serious Man (2009) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Ask Your Own Question "A Serious Man," I didn't like it and I can't say why without spoiling the ending. That's life. I hesitate to suggest that this is now my favorite C-Bros film. A chaotic chain of misunderstandings, lies and mischief ensues after he devises a plot to have them murdered. White letters on a black screen: Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you. As usual, though, the Coens have more venal satisfactions in mind. R | 1h 46min | Comedy, Drama | 6 November 2009 (USA) 1:41 | Trailer. Probably not for middle america, I think the Coen brothers have gotten lazy. The Uncertainty Principle. Larry, an American, is the son of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. Is this about the survival of some kind of Judaic history in contemporary America? It's about God, man's place in the world and the meaning of life, so naturally it's one of their funnier movies. Very Coen Brothers--moving, sometimes disturbing, and sometimes very hilarious.For insiders--American Jews--the references and send-ups will be moving and funny and familiar. Joel and Ethan Coen make movies like nobody else's, but even by their standards A Serious Man is in a class by itself: a complete original that's one of the brothers' best. The Question and Answer section for A Serious Man is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.. (Focus Features). A joy! The New York Film Critics Circle added to The Hurt Locker's growing list... Music title data, credits, and images provided by, Movie title data, credits, and poster art provided by. Shouldn't have been nominated for best pictue. Can anyone help him cope with his afflictions and become a righteous person – a mensch – a serious man? Set in 1967, the film stars Michael Stuhlbarg as a Minnesota Jewish man whose life crumbles both professionally and personally, leading him to questions about his faith. Marshal to track down her father's murderer. Larry Gopnik, a Midwestern physics teacher, watches his life unravel over multiple sudden incidents. 8 VIDEOS | 119 IMAGES. Certainly their most emotionally potent. Uptown Vision Clinic, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. A week in the life of a young singer as he navigates the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961. Insted it barely caused a ripple on the big pond of life and cinema. A Serious Man is Joel and Ethan Coen’s most personal film in many ways, particularly with its deep engagement with the brothers’ Jewish heritage. It's a particularly thin slice-of-life look that peers at a '60s Midwestern Jewish family as if through a microscope.Ethan Larry’s unemployable brother Arthur is sleeping on the couch, his son Danny is a discipline problem and a shirker at Hebrew school, and his daughter Sarah is filching money from his wallet in order to save up for a nose job. Best of 2020: Television Critic Top Ten Lists. The Question and Answer section for A Serious Man is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.. Beginning with a darkly comic prologue in Yiddish, "A Serious Man" inhabits a Jewish community where the rational (physics) is rendered irrelevant by the mystical (fate). Snide, obnoxious, vapid people doing awful things to each other, this movie is total garbage. She has fallen in love with one of his more pompous acquaintances, Sy Ableman, who seems to her a more substantial person than the feckless Larry. 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