A Serious Man
Feature Film | Joel Coen
Comedy doesn’t get much blacker--or bleaker--than this funny, right-on-target Coen Brothers film.
Comedy doesn't get much blacker--or bleaker--than A Serious Man. Written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, the film is set in the suburbs of 1967 Minneapolis, the brothers' own hometown, as the staid, boring life of Larry Gopnik (a solid Michael Stuhlbarg) falls apart and he refuses to take any action to fix it. Instead, Gopnik just allows woe upon woe to pile on him in a series of hysterical scenes during which he grows more and more distant from his family and his teaching job. From the clothing to the cars, from rooftop television antennas to new transistor radios, the Coens get the look and feel of ‘67 right, through Jess Gonchor's dead-on production design and Roger Deakins's lush cinematography. The Coens also fill the film with memorable supporting characters, including Larry's strange, troubled brother (played with tongue-in-cheek charm by Richard Kind). Less overtly wacky than such outstanding Coen efforts as The Big Lebowski and Raising Arizona, A Serious Man is a more fully realized work that insightfully examines such topics as faith and fidelity, dedication and devotion, while still managing to be laugh-out-loud funny.
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TV & Film Review
The Big Lebowski
Joel CoenA great cast and playful direction really tie the film… >>
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