Given the subject matter of A Serious Man, it isn’t surprising to me that it has received somewhat limited distribution. Brought to us by the Coen brothers, those moviegoers expecting to find Fargo or O Brother Where Art Though should look elsewhere. A Serious Man is clearly their most autobiographical movie so far, and treads in Coen style on some very simple topics: the meaning of life, how perspective decides how we feel about our lives, how God speaks to us (if at all), and how we know anything about anything. In other words, A Serious Man is to popcorn movies as War and Peace is to some light reading.
The plot, a parable of sorts itself (and loosely based on the biblical tale of Job), centers on Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg). Larry is a physics professor, about to receive tenure, married with two children. He lives in a peaceful suburb area of Minneapolis in 1967 (which is beautifully recreated in detail; everything about the film carries the essence of the late 60’s). To Larry, everything in his life seems to be on the right track. His son is about to have his Bar Mitzvah, he enjoys his job, he loves his wife…even his nebbish brother (Richard Kind) who is staying with the family and sleeping on the couch manages not to break his stride.
Suddenly, though, cracks appear and Larry discovers his life is not what is seems to be (or is it simply that it has changed into something else?). A disgruntled student attempts to bribe Larry for a passing grade (or does he?), and then threatens to sue him. Larry’s wife Judith (Sari Lennick) announces she wants a divorce, as well as a Get (a ritualistic Jewish divorce) so she can marry friend of the family Sy (Fred Melamed). His son smokes pot constantly, and owes a neighborhood tough $20; his only concern seems to be whether his father can fix the television antenna so he can watch F-Troop. Judith and Sy eventually convince Larry to move into the local motel (the Jolly Rodger) with his brother. Money pressures are surrounding him, and the divorce is simply icing on the cake. Even the Columbia Record Club is hounding him for money.
At the urging of a few minor characters, Larry goes to “see the Rabbi.” In this case there are three Rabbis, and Larry seeks advice from each of them. What is God trying to tell him? What is he supposed to do? Why has his happy life been turned upside down?
A complex web of questions tie the film together. Can we really know anything? Is life simply a collection of surmises? Are the coincidences and events of life messages from above, or simply the daily hassles of life as a human being? What is faith, how do we keep it, and does it matter? An opening scene in A Serious Man, spoken in Yiddish but subtitled in English, seems to have no connection to the rest of the film…but I believe it does. Because A Serious Man is such a personal film to the Coens, it will likely have different meanings to different people. It is also very heavy on Judaic references, which may be lost on some audience members. And the final scene leaves as many questions as it answers.
I won’t say that A Serious Man was the most enjoyable film the Coen brothers have given us, but it is to me the most thought provoking, the most meaningful, and the most detailed. I really don’t feel able to give it a true full review, because there are still so many things I need to consider…what did this mean? What did that mean? What was the purpose of that exchange?
Walking out of the theatre, I was suddenly reminded of a page I printed in an old issue of Maniac’s Paradise explaining the differences in various religions using the term “Shit Happens.” It ends with “Judaism: Why does shit always happen to us?”
