Sunday, October 18, 2009
A+E, Movies, Reviews

Coens’ latest is ‘Serious’-ly good

 

Wilson Webb
Michael Stuhlbarg

“A SERIOUS MAN”
Michael Stuhlbarg, Fred Melamed
Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
Rated R
Regal Tara 4 Cinema

The Coen Brothers return to their cultural and geographical roots with “A Serious Man,” one of the year’s strangest comedies. Set in a Minneapolis suburb in 1967, it’s the most Jewish movie since “Fiddler on the Roof,” although most of the singing is done by Jefferson Airplane.

Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) is on top of the world. His doctor just gave him a clean bill of health, he’s about to become tenured as a physics professor, and his son Danny (Aaron Wolff) is about to be bar mitzvahed. Things at home might be better if Larry’s brother Arthur (Richard Kind) wasn’t staying with them and driving everyone crazy, but overall, life is good.

Suddenly, Larry’s wife Judith (Sari Lennick) wants a divorce so she can marry widower Sy Ableman (Fred Melamed). His tenure is threatened by someone sending anonymous letters to the committee. The gentile next door is encroaching on his property line. Danny owes money to the local pot dealer, and Arthur’s in trouble with the police (and maybe the mob) for gambling. There are auto accidents, legal expenses, more charges against Arthur, threats from the Koreans and the Columbia Record Club ... Oy! Job didn’t know how easy he had it. (Of course, there are still some good things, like when Larry witnesses his next-door neighbor Mrs. Samsky sunbathing nude.)

You don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy “A Serious Man,” which can hardly be seen as a celebration of Judaism, although there may be some affection buried deep in its satire. Even if you’ve never kibitzed in a kibbutz, you’ll agree Joel and Ethan Coen have earned another “Mazel tov!” 3.5 STARS—Steve Warren