Last year, 2009, was the first year since 1943 that the Academy nominated more than five movies for best picture in one year. The idea was to be more inclusive so that more people will want to watch the Oscars if they had seen more of the nominees. One of the surprise nominations was the Coen Brothers’ odd comedy A Serious Man. After a brief and puzzling prologue, the story begins with Larry going about his normal day as a Jewish physics professor in 1962 Minnesota suburbs. He lives with his unsympathetic wife, his deadbeat brother, his hair-washing obsessed daughter and his pothead son. Things begin to go bad when his wife demands a divorce and presents the man she intends to then marry. From there, the smorgasbord of crap piles on top of Larry piece by piece.
I really enjoyed this movie, however, I would not recommend it for everyone. First of all, the Coen brothers have a specific humor that is not always enjoyed by all, so if you didn’t enjoy The Big Lebowski, Fargo, or Burn After Reading, don’t bother with this film. The comedy is almost painful in a What About Bob kind of way but without the benefit of likeable characters. The only relatable character is Larry and nothing good happens to him. All the other characters take advantage of Larry in odd ways and he simply lets them do it. None of these characters are what you would call normal and are more like caricatures of the annoying people we all encounter in our lives. Also the ending isn’t exactly what you would call…conclusive.
That being said, I found it hilarious but I couldn’t really get drawn into it because of the oddness. Instead, I was able to stay detached and appreciate other aspects of the film. Most of the things I enjoyed were due the ways that this film seriously challenges traditional formulas of film. There are three distinct times in the film where they present a story arch that you might expect and then subverts it, clearly making fun of the audience a bit by beginning something that the audience would expect to happen next and then changing it so the viewer is made aware that films often make predictable patterns and the Coen brothers are trying to break those patterns. There are a lot of interesting things going on with parallels that would be interesting to study further. The parallel between Larry’s storyline and his son’s storyline or the parallel between the seemingly unrelated prologue and the film itself would both be very interesting to delve further into.
Entertainment- 4. Most people will not appreciate this film. Unless you are a die-hard fan of the Coen brothers’ work or really enjoy films that take a bit more work on your part after the credits roll in order to make sense of it, you will hate this film.
Award-worthy- 9. All the elements are there to make an Award-winning film. Even though the set design and cinematography are nothing special, the writing challenges the traditionally accepted norm of film, the acting is subtle and well done, and the music add to the themes and parallels. I think the problem comes from how abstract it is. This is more of a scholar’s film than an entertainment film.
I really enjoyed this movie, however, I would not recommend it for everyone. First of all, the Coen brothers have a specific humor that is not always enjoyed by all, so if you didn’t enjoy The Big Lebowski, Fargo, or Burn After Reading, don’t bother with this film. The comedy is almost painful in a What About Bob kind of way but without the benefit of likeable characters. The only relatable character is Larry and nothing good happens to him. All the other characters take advantage of Larry in odd ways and he simply lets them do it. None of these characters are what you would call normal and are more like caricatures of the annoying people we all encounter in our lives. Also the ending isn’t exactly what you would call…conclusive.
That being said, I found it hilarious but I couldn’t really get drawn into it because of the oddness. Instead, I was able to stay detached and appreciate other aspects of the film. Most of the things I enjoyed were due the ways that this film seriously challenges traditional formulas of film. There are three distinct times in the film where they present a story arch that you might expect and then subverts it, clearly making fun of the audience a bit by beginning something that the audience would expect to happen next and then changing it so the viewer is made aware that films often make predictable patterns and the Coen brothers are trying to break those patterns. There are a lot of interesting things going on with parallels that would be interesting to study further. The parallel between Larry’s storyline and his son’s storyline or the parallel between the seemingly unrelated prologue and the film itself would both be very interesting to delve further into.
Entertainment- 4. Most people will not appreciate this film. Unless you are a die-hard fan of the Coen brothers’ work or really enjoy films that take a bit more work on your part after the credits roll in order to make sense of it, you will hate this film.
Award-worthy- 9. All the elements are there to make an Award-winning film. Even though the set design and cinematography are nothing special, the writing challenges the traditionally accepted norm of film, the acting is subtle and well done, and the music add to the themes and parallels. I think the problem comes from how abstract it is. This is more of a scholar’s film than an entertainment film.
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