A Serious Man [2009]

After Burn After Reading this is the next movie coming to us from Coen brothers. Although I’m a fan of their movies, this one eluded me for a long time and eventually I found it a bit odd and slightly underwhelming. Maybe this is due to the strong Jewish background of the movie and my lack of knowledge regarding the subject, I do not know. Funny, it would seem that the main underlying subjects, besides one man’s journey are theodicy (why a good god allows for manifestations of evil) and several concepts found in physics. I think I just need another viewing 🙂

Larry Gopnik is a professor that just found out that his wife is leaving him, due to his strange brother staying with them too long and new found romance with his friend Sy Ableman. With these problems and other stuff that’s happening in his life he’s having trouble remaining the same. Movie opens with seemingly unrelated scene from the past where a wife and a husband greet a strange guest that turns out to be a Dybbuk (malicious possessing spirit, believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person). To make the connections is up to you. You can expect the usual work of the Coen’s, prolonged scenes that apparently have nothing going on. But underneath it all is a subtle humor and profound experiences. Enjoy.

Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Cast: Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Fred Melamed, Sari Lennick, Peter Breitmayer, David Kang

Fun Stuff: The criminal lawyer that Larry is told to go to, Ron Meshbesher, is actually a local lawyer in Minneapolis. He is of the firm Meshbesher and Spence. The address that is on the retainer envelope at the end of the movie is their actual downtown address.

Rating:

IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1019452/