A Serious Man review

One wonders exactly where the Coen brothers could go from where they are at. Right now they are two of the most important, most creative and most interesting filmmakers working today. They have one countless accolades and awards and yet they've never fully gone pure Hollywood, the closest they will ever give is a version of it that's filtered through them; so we don't get a Hollywood film but more or less a Hollywood produced film created by Joel and Ethan Coen. However "A Serious Man" is not that film, in fact they haven't done that film since "The Ladykillers". No "A Serious Man" is a dark comedy that's among their very best films. I'm saying like this is perhaps their best dark comedy since "Fargo" (if you consider "Fargo" a comedy that is).

Instead of casting big name stars like last years comedy "Burn After Reading", they aimed for little known or even first time actors and actresses including the film's star Michael Stuhlbarg who plays professor Larry Gopnik. Larry's life is leading to a very rough patch and he's beginning to feel as if he's never going to get out of it. His wife is leaving him for a much older man, who insists on comforting Larry about the whole ordeal. Someone is attempting to sabotage him at the college he works at, his children see him as just another tool of the house and his brother is a magnet for trouble that Larry ends up having to deal with. And all throughout these perils Larry tries to speak with Jewish leaders to get some advice that will fix things in his mind. All this to no or little avail.

"A Serious Man" manages to be crafty within it's humor by giving you this very strange under towing mystery to what's 'really' going on in this man's life. In truth this film is hard to talk about plot wise because so much happens that reflects upon other things so you can never tell too much. Performance wise the film is perfect to a tee. Casting unknowns was the best idea they could've had with this kind of story. Shuhlbarg really makes you feel for him because it's as if he's being punished for something he never did. Sari Lennick (in her first film role) is great as his wife Judith who manages to turn almost everything out of Larry's mouth around on him and make it work for her. Then there's the wide supporting class of characters that will forever belong in the filing cabinet of Coen characters that are so funny and interesting in the most subtle and absurd ways that no mere explanation can really pin it down for people.

In short this is a great film, one of the very best of 2009 and deserves to be seen by the public. For me this belong in the rose gallery of their best films like "Barton Fink", "Fargo"and "No Country for Old Men". And to answer the question that I began with, where do the Coen brothers go from here... well as it turns out... no one knows until they've gone there with them. Seriously see this movie.

"A Serious Man" **** out of ****