Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Fred Melamed

A black comedy set in 1967 and centered on Larry Gopnik, a Midwestern professor who watches his life unravel when his wife prepares to leave him because his inept brother won't move out of the house.

Flixster Users

74% liked it

1,515 ratings

Critics

85% liked it

119 critics

R, 1 hr. 45 min.

Directed by: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Release Date: October 2, 2009

Invite friends to see Get Showtimes

Stats: 815 reviews

Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Your Rating



clear rating

Flixster Reviews (815)


  • November 14, 2009
    The Coen brothers have created THE NEW FIDDLER ON THE ROOF! Here are the reasons I say that: first, the trailer in its own way presents a musical composition to us; second, the opening scene presents roughly the same time period and place; third, the story takes place in an alm...( read more)ost exclusively Jewish community; fourth, the main character Larry is dealing with comparable family troubles and trying to find answers from God; and fifth, look at the poster.

    Now the Jefferson Airplane song Somebody to Love figures prominently into the movie too as does ceremonial Hebrew music for Larry's son's bar mitzvah. The opening Yiddish scene is darkly humorous and I suppose it is there to suggest the ancestors of the Gopniks may have caused a curse on the family. I have heard that the movie portrays a very authentic Jewish community especially in the way the characters speak and interact. Professor Larry Gopnik lives in America in the 1960's, so he only has two children, a son and a daughter, but his family and professional troubles turn his life on its head with divorce, marijuana, gambling, bribes, and seeking tenure. Wishing he were a rich man hasn't changed though! Being an educated man from the 20th century means Larry doesn't have conversations with God in the same way. He seeks three rabbis as links between him and God because the religious institution is really the only connection to tradition anymore, and being a mathematics/physics professor he is more versed in the Uncertainty Principle. Larry does actually venture up on his roof too, but not to fiddle. Well, wait... yes, by another definition of the word fiddle, Larry Gopnik is a Fiddler on the Roof. He tries to adjust the TV antenna for a show his son likes to watch and then he notices he can see his hot neighbor sunbathing nude.

    Sy Ableman is Larry's Lazar Wolf, but as with every other parallel to the old musical, there is a twist. Sy is the one described as a serious man and Larry through all his questioning and trying to fix his life crisis wants to be a serious man too. The cast is awesome! I think the Coen brothers have mixed tragic troubling moments with darkly humorous moments excellently. Like in No Country for Old Men, you may think the plot is being wrapped up all nice and neat, but then the story continues briefly and leaves you realistically (in a way fatalistically) hanging. So well constructed! I loved it!
  • November 10, 2009
    without question, this is a film i could see myself raising the score on over time. this is a deeply brooding and thought provoking film that carries along with no clear plot until the end, when suddenly it all makes sense. this alegory of the life of Job takes a unique turn, p...( read more)ondering the question, "what if Job had failed?". deakins cinematography was wonderful and the unknown actors really delivered in a film that many will hate because they dont get it, but one that should be embraced for the vision of telling a thousands of years old story with a great glimpse into morality and suffering. the coens have done it once again.
  • November 2, 2009
    A Serious Man works a lot more like Barton Fink in its' lack of glamour with "Physics vs. Fate" serving as the platform. It begins with a strange prologue that plays like Fiddler on the Roof written by Franz Kafka. Seeming to be the Coen's most intensely intimate film, it's als...( read more)o one of their most difficult to deconstruct as God puts main character Larry Gopnik through one test after another. And by God, I mean the Coen Brothers through the eyes of cinematographer Roger Deakins.

    Photobucket
  • October 31, 2009
    Perhaps the biggest complaint about Joel & Ethan Coen is their cynicism -" the way they cruelly weave their characters through these never-ending layers of doom. "No Country for Old Men" was essentially about injustice and a kind of senseless, unrelenting violence. "A Serious Man...( read more)", at first glance, may not appear as bleak as that film, but it's arguably an equally nihilistic foray by the brothers, who are now at the top of their game.

    Larry Gropnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a college physics professor, can't catch a break. A disgruntled student is attempting to ruin his career, his wife is leaving him, his brother-in-law is, quite literally, a pain in the neck, his son has been causing trouble at school, and so on. Many times throughout the film, Larry will say something to the effect of "but I didn't do anything!". It doesn't matter. If he doesn't do anything, the Record Club will still charge his account. This is a world of chaos, one in which a physics professor, trying to wrap his brain around an equation for certainty, has no luck.

    For words of advice, Larry attempts to visit three Rabbi's - each more useless than the last. The first is too young to provide the wisdom he seeks, the second tells him a bizarre fable omitting a morale lesson, and the third won't even agree to meeting with him.

    Stuhlbarg is an accomplished stage actor, but for most film-goers he's a blank slate. He couldn't be any more perfect. He doesn't try to play the lovable loser, nor does he go overboard with his mental breakdown. Although the film's world is rather exaggerated, his performance as Gropnik is understated. He's an average guy who tries to play with the cards he's dealt, yet he fails with them every time.

    The supporting characters are also uniformly perfect, once again proving that nobody strikes gold more often than the Coens when it comes to casting.

    The audience I saw the film with was very upset at the abrupt end to the film - a reaction not unlike the conclusion of "No Country for Old Men". I sensed, however, that after we had all sat through the credits, that everyone, including myself, knew it couldn't have ended in a better way. There aren't many final images as haunting as this one - so profound, discomforting, and almost humorous in the cruelest sense imaginable.

    "A Serious Man" is certainly bizarre, but it also may be the most mature of all of the Coen Brothers' work. While this pitiless universe may frustrate some, it's a welcome diversion from the Hollywood productions that ensure everything will be okay. Moreso, however, "A Serious Man" is so full of life in it's ensemble and period detail that it's far from simply depressing. Bleak, yes - but the film is so rich with ideas and impeccable imagery that you'll be begging for an encore once the credits roll.
  • October 30, 2009
    Sy Abelman: Larry, everything's going to be fine.

    A darkly comedic film from the Coen Brothers. That isn't something new, but this film certainly casts a very bleak outlook on its main character throughout. Sharing qualities not since one of their earlier films, Barton Fink, thi...( read more)s film combines bleakness, ambiguity, and subtle humor into a very, for the lack of a better term, Jewish film.

    The film's lead character is Larry Gopnik, a physics professor living in 1967 Minnesota. He is married with two children. His son is soon to be having his Bar Mitzvah, although all he wants to do is smoke weed, watch F-Troop, and listen to Jefferson Airplane in Hebrew School. Larry's Daughter is stealing money from him for a nose job and seems to always want to wash her hair, which is a problem because of Larry's brother Arthur. Arthur seems to be freeloading, living on Larry's sofa as he delves into questionable activities during the day.

    The real problems for Larry are soon to be packed on top of each other. His wife is planning to leave him for another man. A student, whom Larry failed, has attempted to bribe him for a passing grade, or sue him if he rats him out, which may also be threatening his chance at tenure. He is having issues with his neighbors, issues with a company on the phone, claiming that he owes money, issues involving lawyers that he needs for various things such as his divorce and his brother, and even issues involving the TV antenna.

    Larry tries to seek advice from different rabbis, but the results only leave him more and more confused. It is not in Larry's character to react in any higher emotions than general concern, but his efforts at being a serious man are certainly being tested throughout.

    I love the idea that the Coen's were basically given the chance to make a movie as obscure as this one. After Burn After Reading, which was packed with A-list stars and a much more audience friendly vibe, despite still having a very Coen feel to it and still being hilarious, this film features no big name stars (the biggest would be Richard KInd) and contains many elements that are sure to leave many people confused or dissatisfied if they are not familiar with the Coen Brother's style or expected something much more mainstream.

    This film certainly continues the trend of the Coen's really pushing their characters around for the worse. Larry is very much a Job like character, with all his stacking problems. Add to that the Jewish tone of the film, with almost every character making Yiddish references and all the various interactions giving a feel similar to how much the same everyone's attitude was in Fargo. Its that stylized quirk that the Coen's make work.

    I really enjoyed Michael Stuhlbarg's performance as Larry here. He was cast just right, making the character work in such a way where he wasn't whiny or overplayed as his physics professor/meek demeanor may suggest. I quite enjoyed all of the actors here actually.

    Then you have an ending, which for me, just worked. Its certainly handled in a way where some will walk out of the theater going, "what," but to me, just made the film even more interesting in the, "I will watch this again after I've thought about it for a while," kind of way.

    The film certainly wont have the repeated draw like No Country, among other Coen works have, but its one of the more interesting films I've seen this year.

    Sy Ableman: I think, really, the Jolly Roger is the appropriate course of action.
  • November 14, 2009
    Michael Stuhlberg is fantastic.
  • November 14, 2009
    I'm excited to see this. I wonder if it is any good.

    An interesting trailer, but its hard to guage how good a Coen brothers movie will be from a trailer, or from reviews from the butt kissing press. Lets hope its back to their old form.
  • November 13, 2009
    I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. At first, I thought it was a little annoying that the film offered more questions than answers, but then, by the end of the film, found that it was kind of the point of the film in my opinion. I connected with the idea of questionin...( read more)g the faith that the main character (well played by Stuhlbarg) had grown up in and made up most of his entire life. My big problem with the film was that I thought there were one too many dream sequences. I thought the one involving his brother and his neighbor was a little too paranoid as if every "goy" is out to get Jewish people was a little out there (even for a film set in this time period). The ending was good and thought there was some very funny parts and I can always enjoy the Coens' writing.
  • November 11, 2009
    looks good. Might watch it if want to. Looks funny
  • November 9, 2009
    This movie was interesting...

    I'm not sure if I liked it...but it was interesting. Like a few of the Coen brothers movies preceding this bleak, slow-paced character examination of a "Job"-like man (Job, from the Bible), it may grow on me after a second and third watch, and I m...( read more)ight really like it and appreciate it. No Country really grew on me.

    But I don't know...this is a tough one. Everything I want to criticize this movie for (slow pace, no third act, no resolution) I know were intentional. Those are the hardest movies to rate. Everything that you want to say is a problem, the Coen brothers put there for the specific reason of making it a problem. I'm lost...and when I'm lost...I give 3 stars.

Critic Reviews


October 9, 2009
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

It's hard to love a movie that makes you feel anxious and miserable, and yet it's impossible not to respect a movie that has that power. full review

October 8, 2009
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

While there are plenty of oddball touches, some mystifying (like the Yiddish-language prologue, set in a Polish shtetl and seeming to have little to do with what follows it; and the abrupt ending) -- ... full review

October 8, 2009
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

This isn't a laugh-laugh movie, but a wince-wince movie. Those can be funny, too. full review

October 2, 2009
Claudia Puig, USA Today

A Serious Man is a wonderfully odd, bleakly comic and thoroughly engrossing film. full review

October 2, 2009
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

What do the Coen brothers want of us? More specifically, what do they want us to think of the repellent people in this pitilessly bleak movie? full review

October 2, 2009
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

This seriously funny movie, artfully photographed by the great Roger Deakins, is spiritual in nature, barbed in tone, and, oh, yeah, it stings like hell. full review

October 2, 2009
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

A Serious Man is, like its biblical source, a distilled, hyperbolic account of the human condition. The punch line is a little different, but you know the joke. And it's on you, of course. full review

October 1, 2009
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

Man plans, God laughs, and so do the Coen brothers. full review

September 30, 2009
Armond White, The New York Press

A Serious Man rejects the bland Jewishness of Judd Apatow films; it's similar to the black filmmakers' project in Next Day Air, in which social stereotypes get burlesqued, yet are used to reveal an es... full review

September 28, 2009
David Edelstein, New York Magazine

A Serious Man is not only hauntingly original, it's the final piece of the puzzle that is the Coens. full review

View more A Serious Man reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


This board looks lonely. Be the first to talk about "A Serious Man" !

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Official Trailer

More Like This


This list looks lonely.
Add a suggestion!

Theater Showtimes & TV Listings


No showtimes found.

A Serious Man Trivia


  • what Actor plays the role of a man being interrigated by police in a serious murder case and details everything to do with the case and is set free due to mistreatment during the interview?( The last shot is of this actor laughing)  Answer »
  • A young man wins and loses the first serious love of his life julia stiles is in this movie?  Answer »
  • -I have been in many movies with a group of the smae actors/actresses. -I am usually in comedys -I am actually a very serious man in real life. -I write and produce a lot of my own movies. Who am I?  Answer »
  • What Movie Had the Tagline. A Man with a Serious drinking problem  Answer »

Movie Quizzes


No quizzes for A Serious Man. Want to create one?

Most Popular Skin


No skins yet. Interested in creating one?