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A Serious Man (2009)
  
Review
The
Coen brothers' latest outing, A Serious Man, ostensibly offers a
slice of life from a dysfunctional Jewish family and community in
Minnesota in the late 1960s. It is a black comedy of sorts, albeit
without much support for the comedy, contrary to their wonderful
previous film,
Burn After Reading. Instead, A
Serious Man is constructed as an ordeal – principally with a
religious perspective (the Book of Job) – for our protagonist Larry
(Michael Stuhlbarg) and his poor audience. Rarely have the Coens been
less audience-friendly, as the multitude of insensitive supporting
characters compete in making Larry's life increasingly miserable. The
beautiful and accurate cinematography is the Coens' canvas for some
heavy blows to the Jewish clergy (the rabbis cannot offer much
assistance), and both this and similar Jewish-specific comments and
observations might give the film more value for people with a background
or extensive knowledge of the Jewish faith. For me, the symbolic value
of a weak man tortured by life to prove his faith in God is far too
meagre to make up an entire, monotonous motion picture.
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