The Chocolate Review: A Serious Man

Another split decision at The Chocolate Review comes in the form A Serious Man. What I believe to be one of the best films of the past few years, Ekemini calls a snore fest. Alas, the Coen brothers have sparked yet another debate over the interpretation of “dark” in a dark comedy.

The story follows Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a Jewish physics professor whose life is crumbling around him. His son is a closet weed head. His wife wants a divorce. His daughter steals from his wallet for a secret nose job and his brother Arthur (Richard Kind), who mechanically sucks puss from a back cyst, has been sleeping on his couch with no intentions of ever moving out. As if that wasn’t enough he finds himself caught in a bribery scandal when a Korean student fails his class and is willing to pay for a better grade. How much can one guy’s life suck, right? Well, it gets worse.

What’s interesting about everything unfolding in Gopnik’s life is how he deals with it. With a solid refusal to break away from his Jewish good nature, Larry meanders hopelessly from one misfortune to the next, without the slightest idea of how to help himself. Hence the reason that Larry Gopnik is best defined by what he doesn’t do in this film. He’s a good man, maybe too good, but sometimes you have to do bad things to make it through life in one piece. This is a lesson that Gopnik doesn’t catch wise to until the end. Whatever the end may be...

What put Ekemini off the most was the plethora of unanswered questions. While I’ll admit that nothing bothers me more than loose ends in a story, and A Serious Man is chocked full of them, nothing could have pleased me more. What I appreciate the most about this film is that it doesn’t give you the answers. To anything. It asks several dramatic questions and then leaves you hanging in the most satisfying way possible (for me at least). It sealed the entire point of the film with one quick action and validates the reason why I simply adore the Coen brothers.

The movie quite appropriately opens with a quote by Rashi which says, “Receive with simplicity, everything that happens to you.” That’s exactly what Gopnik does. Did it work in his favor? Who knows? We sure don’t.

Ekemini gives A Serious Man 3.5 out of 5 stars for the following reasons:

• Not entertaining
• Bad ending
• Too many loose ends to be enjoyable
• Thinks this film will go over most people’s heads

Crystal Rose gives A Serious Man 5 out of 5 stars for the following reasons:

• Very entertaining, a good mix of drama and comedy
• FANTASTIC ending and theme
• This film makes you think. You have to love a movie that makes you question your own circumstances? Or at least your perception of them.