Movie Review: A Serious Man (2009, Directed by the Coen Brothers)

The Coen Brothers have accomplished something extraordinary. They have now, in my estimation, created not one, not two, but three nearly flawless films. The cinematic perfection of Fargo and No Country for Old Men is matched by the brothers’ (post-?) modern reinvention of the story of Job, A Serious Man.

Let me begin by pointing out that I laughed more at this film than I have at any other movie the Coens have made, including such deliberately funny offerings as The Big Lebowski and Raising Arizona. My laughter at A Serious Man, however, was of the nervous variety most of the time. Our protagonist Larry Gopkin, played, in one of the best performances of the year, by veteran stage actor Michael Stuhlbarg, is on the brink of disaster. Gopkin is a Jewish physics professor in suburban Minneapolis in the late 1960s. His wife is leaving him for their next-door neighbor (Fred Melamed), his son is smoking pot at his own bar mitzvah, his deadbeat brother is living at his home and constantly taking up all the bathroom time, his academic committee is threatening not to grant him tenure, a student is bribing him monetarily to give him a passing grade, and the stupid Columbian record company won’t stop calling to demand payment for records poor Gopkin hasn’t even listened to. Oy vey … what a day!

Gopkin wants to know just exactly what he has done wrong. He has tried to be a serious man, attending the synagogue, raising his children to be moral, committing himself fully to his job, being a good husband, etc. etc. etc. Why, then, must he suffer? Is this God’s way of “rewarding” him for being such a devout human being?

The answer to these questions is never fully revealed in the film. Gopkin seeks guidance from three rabbis and one attorney. Just when he thinks life is on the upswing, things fall apart and all his hope comes crashing violently to the ground. Did I mention, by the way, that this is a comedy?

The fact that the Coens can make such a funny and profound film out of such weighty material is evidence of their superb artistic abilities. From the opening seconds of A Serious Man, featuring a Yiddish prologue and one of the more brilliant credit sequences I’ve seen in some time, to the baffling, yet intriguing, ending, I felt that I was in masterful hands. Never do the Coens take a misstep in this picture.

Watching filmmakers as sure-footed as the Coens at the top of their game is almost a spiritual experience. Yes, they have made some less-than-stellar films over the years (last year’s Burn After Reading being one of them, in my opinion). But, even when they make films that don’t succeed on every level, they are never boring. When they do make films that work throughout (like A Serious Man), they are an absolute joy.

I was more engaged by A Serious Man than any other film this year, and that includes both Inglorious Basterds and The Hurt Locker, two other pictures I was ecstatic about. 2009 is turning out to be a good year for film indeed.