Movie Review: A Serious Man

The Coen brothers have been accused of being too intellectual, without any substance to back their brainy ideas up. While this reviewer doesn't share that opinion, A Serious Man should help put those ideas to rest. The film is constantly dealing with the big questions in life: Why am i here? Why are these things happening to me? What should I be doing with my life? How does God speak to us? But at its core the film is an ironic, often dark, comedy. Using the world they were brought up in (1960s Jewish America), the Coen brothers have crafted a brilliant comedy (or is it dramedy?) which refuses to give away the answers. In this way the film is about the Coens' cultural upbringing, not all the big philosophical questions.

Films that claim to blend comedy with philosophic insight often fall into the trap of seeming too self-important. While comedy can comment on the way we live our lives, to bring in questions of being and God often forces a filmmaker into attempting to answer the biggest questions that have plagued human history. Needless to say, most directors and screenwriters cannot come up with all the answers. But it is the Coen brothers' insistence on not answering the big questions that makes A Serious Man both hilarious and wonderfully frustrating.

The film, like many of the Coen brothers' films, follows a man (Michael Stuhlbarg) whose world is falling apart around him. Much like The Dude or Barton Fink, Larry Gopnik seems to be the only sane person in circus of characters out to bring him down. And isn't that how we all feel? With a wife who wants a divorce, a pot smoking son, a loser brother, and a long list of money problems – just to start – the film can feel like an updated Candide. But it's Larry's claim that he hasn't done anything, the world seems to be happening to him, that keeps us chuckling to ourselves. The audience is not laughing at his misfortune. On the contrary, he is an extremely relatable and likable character. He is attempting to find real answers to life's big questions, but the people around him do not seem to take his problems seriously, and the comedy comes from their attempt to cover up the fact that there are no answers. Or, at least, none that we can find. 

Larry continually attempts to find answers to why this is happening to him, what is God trying to tell him? He goes to three rabbis, much in the style of a Jewish tale (or joke). The rabbis, the last line of defense for his sanity or spiritual rebirth, give him more non-answers. But the film does not promote nihilism. Instead, it asks us to laugh at all the ways we attempt to keep going forward and ignore the nagging questions. Just attempting to keep your head down and get through life is both impossible and hilarious. As the Columbia Record Company tells Larry, "You don't do anything, that's why we keep sending you the records, you are now four months late on payment." Rim shot!