Opening 21 Jan 2010
Directed by:
Ethan Coen
Writing credits:
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Principal actors:
Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Fred Melamed, Sari Lennick, Aaron Wolff
In their new film A Serious Man, directors/writers Ethan and Joel Coen paint a loving, though sometimes critical, picture of a Jewish community in the Midwest. At the center of the movie is Professor Larry Gopnik (New York theater actor Michael Stuhlbarg), a married man with a family, a good job, and a nice home – a happy man. But his happiness doesn’t last long, as the Coen brothers do their best to destroy it bit by bit. Just to give you an idea: They might as well have called this film If Anything can go Wrong – it will or Bad Things Happen to Good People. Watching Larry trying so hard to be A Serious Man and do the right thing and being pretty clueless as to what the right thing is, can be funny – if you have a taste for very black humor. If you don’t, you might find this movie slightly depressing. But the reactions to A Serious Man are way more varied than that. So the best thing you can do is watch it with a group of friends and discuss it afterwards. It would also be helpful if your group of friends included people familiar with Jewish traditions and Coen brothers’ films who can fill you in on all the insider jokes. (Christa Greiff)
