Movie Review - A Serious Man (2009)

Starring Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Alan Arkin, Fred Melamed, Sari Lennick, and Aaron Wolff
Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen

It's as if we're plopped right down in the middle of the life of the Gopnik family as A Serious Man begins. Dad Larry (Michael Stuhlbarg), a physics professor, has just discovered that his wife wants a divorce. His brother, Uncle Arthur (Richard Kind), is working on some great math problem called the Mentaculus that will allow him to predict things in the future (sort of, I think...). And Larry's son, Danny, is getting ready for his bar mitzvah, but isn't exactly an angelic candidate as he enjoys the regular smoking of pot. All three men seem to find themselves in situations where they don't quite make the perfect decisions and their choices may cause some serious problems for them.

I've seen quite a few Coen Brothers flicks this year and this one tops the list. I was completely engrossed in the characters and the story and I didn't want it to end. When it did end (absolutely leaving me with a "what the hell?" moment), I wanted it to keep going, not because I wanted more explanations (although I did), but because I truly was enjoying the world the Coens created for these characters. It was a truly effortless script that never dragged and was filled with sly, wry, and dry humor. Yes, the film centers around religion, but it never does so in an overbearing, preachy way...a difficult task.

All the acting here was excellent (another candidate for a Best Ensemble award), but Michael Stuhlbarg, in particular, was pretty amazing. I guess it helps that I have no clue who the guy is, but there wasn't a second that I felt like I was watching an actor. I simply felt as if I were invited to watch a few days in the life of a Midwestern Jewish guy as he deals with a whole bunch of awful things being thrown at him.

Although on the surface it may not appear to be so, I think the Coen Brothers were really trying for something deep here and amplify things to the nth degree in order to make it humorous...the notion that one's actions are constantly being judged and that one may have to "pay" for said actions in the end -- whether that payment be from other people or from God. The film is certainly still sitting with me two days after watching it...thoughts are still rumbling around in my head concerning the flick (in a good way).

This movie certainly isn't for all tastes, but I found it quite refreshing and incredibly enjoyable.

The RyMickey Rating: A-