A Serious Man

Starring: Michael Stuhlberg, Richard Kind, Fred Melamed, Sari Lennick
Directed by: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
2009

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A Jewish professor (Michael Stuhlberg) finds himself rethinking his life when a series of unfortunate events befall him.

Review:

Tim: I am shocked that this film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. Yes, the Coen Brothers are terrific directors, but I feel like their reputation has helped them cover up some of this film's weaknesses. I tried hard to understand why so many people like this movie. I understand that the film is about religion and about the bad things that sometimes happen to good people. It is about the questions that life and religion leave unanswered, and about the frustrations that happen when we try to find answers for ourselves. It is a realistic look at a Jewish family in the midwest in the 1960s, and because of all of this, we're supposed to love the film. I couldn't, however. I disliked this movie for a number of reasons.

The first and foremost is that the movie is pretty boring. I know that is a subjective criticism, but it doesn't make it less true. There is really no plot in the film- we just have characters floating around, some events happen once in a while, but it all feels very loose and free-flowing. The movie needed a more definitive beginning and end. I know the Coen Brothers planned it like this, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. I also had a very hard time identifying with any of the characters. Not a single character is really likable. Sure, they are eccentric, as you would expect from the Coens, but none are really good people. Larry is a wuss and a whimp, and it is hard to root for someone with no real backbone. Arthur is too crazy to invest much rooting interest in, and plays too small a part in the film. Sy is awful. Judith is clearly an uninspiring, unrelatable character. Larry's kids are annoying and selfish. I just didn't care about a single character throughout this entire film. That greatly hurt the movie in my eyes.

It really boggles my mind why this film was so loved by critics. I understand that this is an artsy, unique movie. It does feature some strong performances, and the Coens Brothers certainly know how to direct a film. However, all these elements don't add up to anything of lasting value. I admit that if I was Jewish, I might have been able to identify more with the film, but I typically love movies that show me a different culture or a different reality than I'm used to. I couldn't here, however. The film ends as you might expect, not really answering any of our questions, which is an interesting commentary on the film itself, where the protagonist's questions mostly go unanswered. Sure, this gives the film some artistic points, but it loses many satisfaction points. The conclusion is a bit unsatisfying.

I understand that there are a lot of people who will like this movie. That's fine with me. If it spoke to them and touched them, that's great. However, I also believe there are a large number of "fans" who like this movie because they think they are supposed to. It is a Coen Brothers film that addresses some of the big questions in life, and features a mostly unknown cast. It has to be good, right? Not necessarily. I think this is an extremely overrated movie, and it angers me that films like this take up spots in places like the Academy Award Best Picture nomination list when great (non-Oscar-bait movies) are left out.

In short, this movie was a major disappointment for me. I was looking forward to it, and I certainly began the film with an open mind. I enjoyed the mostly unrrelated Yiddish folktale at the beginning. However, the longer the movie went on, the less and less I felt interested in it. I began to get bored, tired, and found myself indentifying less and less with anything regarding the film. Movies are great because they speak different things to different people, but this only thing this film did was make me feel angry for wasting a chunk of my day on it.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 5.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Burn After Reading, No Country for Old Men, Fargo, The Hudsucker Proxy