_A Serious Man_: The Review

Text by Abe Fried-Tanzer

Every director inevitably makes a personal film at some point in their career. Joel and Ethan Coen make movies about bizarre people and the strange coincidences that rule over their daily lives. There’s a recognizable element in all of their films, usually a streak of black comedy to accompany a dark, foreboding fairy tale. One thing that’s been hinted at but never explored is their Jewish upbringing. The Big Lebowski’s war veteran bowler Walter, played by John Goodman, famously didn’t “roll on Shabbos,” but besides that, the Coen brothers haven’t lingered on their past, until now.

A Serious Man is the story of Larry Gopnik, a physics professor in the 1960s in Minneapolis who just can’t seem to catch a break. He’s plagued by problem after problem, and every time he thinks that he’s in the clear, something else goes wrong. It’s a contradiction to the notion of Jewish neuroticism – Larry has reason to worry, though he hardly grasps the continually worsening gravity of his situation. While moviegoing audiences likely haven’t had quite the string of bad luck Larry has, his story takes place amid a distinctly familiar background. The film may be set in the 1960s, but the moment the film starts, memories of Jewish childhood should instantly flood back to audiences. Larry and his story represent a considerable departure from the Coens’ usual fare. The brothers concede that Larry is likely their most educated character, and his deep immersion in a Jewish upbringing is a reflection of their childhood. When asked if the movie is supposed to serve as a statement about Judaism or as a comment on rabbis or Jews, they’re not willing to commit. They admit, however, that Judaism is a “part of your identity as a person inescapably,” and that it shaped the way they were brought up. It’s clear that, while they’ve avoided directly addressing their heritage in their work thus far, it’s all bubbled back up to the surface in their latest film.

Larry and his family aren’t observant Jews, but their religion guides the way they live and function. Everyone they know is Jewish, immediately evident by their very Jewish last names. A Serious Man is full of references Jews will love, including Sisterhood gifts of kiddush cups to Bar Mitzvah students and learning Torah portions by listening to the cantor on tape (or in this case, record). It’s a movie any Jew can relate to – a true communal Jewish experience – a slightly self-deprecating Jewish movie in the style of Woody Allen. Characters even come back from the dead just like in Allen’s films to lecture and berate the leads about the mistakes that haunt them. It’s hardly plagiarism, and imitating Woody Allen should definitely be considered something positive.

But this is, after all, a movie from Joel and Ethan Coen, who brought you Fargo and No Country for Old Men. There may be more overt humor present than usual, but it’s still a serious movie. Larry is a serious man, and he has legitimate concerns amid all the amusing situations which befall him. The magnificent, haunting score by Coen regular Carter Burwell sets a foreboding tone which hovers like a stormy cloud over the whole movie. It’s more than just a comedy, and the added dramatic dimension enhances the overall experience. The Coen brothers may have grown up as typical Midwestern Jews, but they always had something a bit darker on their minds than a fear of getting the stink eye from the goyim next door. A Serious Man belongs in its own genre category – a uniquely Jewish film noir.

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What do you think?