Professor Lawrence ‘Larry’ Gopnik is a serious man, a Jew living in Minnesota, an everyman who lives his life from day to day, never catching a break in life. The story, reminiscent of the Book of Job, follows the professor as everything he touches in life suddenly turns to crap. Larry does the best he can with what he believes God is testing him with, but discovers along the way that being good in life may not really matter.

As a fan of the Coen brothers, pretty much any movie they make I watch, and as usual, I was not disappointed with their film. The direction and screenplay are excellent, and the costumes and art direction are sublime. There are strong performances by all the major characters, particularly Michael Stuhlbarg, who is fascinating as Professor Gopnik. Stuhlbarg’s superb performance is the heart of this movie, you feel for the character and wonder how he manages to go on in life. The ending is abrupt and seems to fit right in with the tone of the movie.

A Serious Man is a must see film if you are a Coen brothers fan. If you haven’t watched their films yet, this movie is full of interesting characters and, like all Coen brothers films, never boring.

2009. Written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Starring Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Alan Arkin, Sari Lennick, Fred Melamed, Aaron Wolff and Jessica McManus.

Rating: