This is a serious movie.In surreal dream sequences and the drug-addled misadventures of a bar mitzvah boy, audiences can escape the painful uncertainties that
A Serious Man
provokes. But to describe the Cohen brothers’ new film as a “black comedy” is to ignore how successfully it addresses the problem of suffering and the futility of leading a moral life.Watching
A Serious Man
feels like being part of a discussion. The Cohens do not provide resolution to the conflicts that arise in their narrative. Not only is this appropriate, given that the questions they pose have no easy answers, but it also allows audience members to feel as though they’re on equal terms with the artists they are appreciating. It is a rare movie-going experience not to be entertained.
A Serious Man
is not emotionally satisfying. Rather, it allows its viewers to become involved with the same philosophical issues that concern its creators.Don’t be misled, though;
A Serious Man
is funny. Really. We promise. It may be hard for some of you to believe that you can have a great time watching a man’s life fall to pieces. Schadenfreude comes to mind. Yet this word is insufficient to describe the outrageous humor that infuses
A Serious Man
. You don’t just enjoy how fate brings down a relentless beating on one unlucky guy. The more hilarious scenes in this film depict the ineptitude of those that try to comfort him.When Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) looks to the religious leaders of his community to explain his unhappiness, he is offered half-empty parking lots and strangely marked teeth as evidence of divine benevolence. The only wise man in town refuses to give him the time of day. His home life is in shambles. His son smokes pot, his daughter wants a nose job, and his neighbor is a douche. Ironically, the only guy who’s willing to offer Larry some consolation is also stealing his wife away. But when Sy Ableman (Fred Melamed) does wrap his meaty arms around our protagonist, you can’t help but laugh.Arrogance receives no quarter from the Cohen brothers. Serious men who have it all figured out bear the brunt of the film’s mockery. Larry’s tragedy is that he still wants to be one of them.
A Serious Man
reduces preoccupation with the effects of one’s actions in this life on the next to absolute absurdity. After all, what’s tax evasion next to a tornado? The forces that shape our world are bigger than our sins. They’re just bigger than us, in general. A Serious Man suggests that we all learn to deal with our inconsequentiality.Lastly, we should probably mention that this movie is super Jewish. From start to finish, this is a film about Jewish people doing Jewish things. Still,
A Serious Man
is for everyone, because the ideas that it presents are of universal interest. So please don’t feel alienated by the yarmulke-sporting, shiva-sitting characters that the Cohens have chosen to depict—they’re just like you.