A Serious Man

I won’t lie; I’m a huge fan of the Cohen brothers. No Country for Old Men combined the eloquence of Cormac McCarthy with the directorial genius of the Cohens. I think that movie is almost flawless. Now, their newest film, A Serious Man, has been unleashed. I’ve seen this move twice now. My first viewing was during its theatrical run. When I left the theater I was amazed that the Cohens got away with making the film. I just re-watched the film on DVD, and I must say that it is a fine example of twisting the natural story arc.

The plot is simple. Larry Gopnik is a math professor. He lives at home with his wife, two children, and eccentric brother. As the film unfolds, Larry’s marriage dissolves, his brother’s insanity leaks out, and his life spirals out of control. Many reviewers called this film a modern retelling of the story of Job. That is an undeniable statement. We watch Larry lose grip of every aspect in his life. At school, a young Korean student puts his job at risk. At home he is losing his wife and his family. We watch all of this and wait. During the first half of the film many will be waiting for that moment of redemption when the character rises above his circumstance and gives us that good feeling in our stomach. After the halfway point we realize that Larry’s life is too complicated and there is no quick fix. Once this settles in, we stop thinking about how it will end and focus on the characters.

The strength of this film lies in the characters. The Cohens are masters of rounded characters. In this film, I cannot think of a single person that was flat. Fred Melamed portrays Sy Ableman, the man stealing Larry’s wife. I could feel the sleaze oozing out of my screen whenever he was around. His tone of voice and subtle gestures make him one of the most interesting characters in the film. Larry’s neighbors consist of a pot smoking woman whose husband is often away on travel and a father who seems to hate Larry because he’s Jewish. Both of these characters left a lasting impression. It would be a waste to try and relay the complexities the Cohens have put into this film with words. The best thing to do is watch the film closely and see those subtleties.

What the Cohens have done is create an elaborate fable. We watch a man’s life spiral down without hope of redemption. He doesn’t give up hope or become indignant; he simply cannot understand why these things are happening. The Cohens throw away the story arc in favor of the situation. We aren’t waiting for a climax, we want to watch Larry and the various characters perform. We want to know how his world works and why an innocent man could fall to tragedy. The hardships he faces are not extraordinary. They are the things we all face: problems at work, problems at home, bad advice, etc.. When finally we see some hope in Larry’s life, we are reminded that we cannot escape from God if he has it out for us.