Release: Now showing
Duration: 105 minutes
Rating: M (drug use, coarse language, violence and sexual references)

Most Coen brothers’ movies can be summed up using easily-identifiable descriptors before finally saying, “Well, it’s a Coen brothers’ film”. You could label No Country for Old Men as a chase film, Fargo as a black comedy, Intolerable Cruelty as a romantic comedy, Miller’s Crossing as a gangster film and The Big Lebowski as a stoner comedy.

However, two of their movies stand apart from the rest as being truly unique, cinematic amalgams of the bizarre, the quirky and the strangely human, only describable as being “Coen brothers’ films”. The first is the surrealist Barton Fink, the fabulously loopy story of a celebrated playwright (played by John Turturro) who ventures to Hollywood to write for the “common man”. The second is their latest, A Serious Man, which almost defies traditional description.

Set in 1960s suburban Minnesota, A Serious Man tells the story of Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a father of two and a professor of physics. Over the course of the film, Gopnik’s situation continually deteriorates in an almost apocalyptic fashion as he is assailed on all sides by escalating problems – his brother Arthur (Richard Kind) has a gambling problem, his wife Judith (Sari Lennick) wants a divorce, his son Danny (Aaron Wolff) smokes marijuana, his daughter Sarah (Jessica McManus) wants a nose job, his failing Korean student Clive (David Kang) is trying to bribe him, and to top it all off, his racist neighbours are disputing the property line.

Only the Coens could tackle a story about academia and physics and turn it into a relentless and unforgiving tale with absolutely no cause for joy. It is a steep descent into hell and darkness, but despite this, it is utterly hilarious. Michael Stuhlbarg’s lead performance is an absolute gem; equal parts comedy and tragedy, the viewer would be hard pressed to find a more refined and beautifully realized portrayal of a man slowly descending into despair. While this film may have many strengths, the combination of the Coens’ superbly written lead character and the exceptional performance put on by Stuhlbarg is its centrepiece. It might not necessarily make the Broadway actor into a star, but it certainly should.

The rest of the actors all come together in a wonderful ensemble – no one is trying to be a scene-stealer, everyone is simply there to serve the film as best they can. The choice made by the Coens to not have any recognizable stars in their film was a bold but ultimately effective one – whilst their collaborations with the likes of Jeff Bridges, George Clooney and John Turturro were rousing successes, it is better for this story if the viewer is not distracted by the presence of instantly recognizable stars.

Similarly, the film looks terrific, with Roger Deakins bringing the very highest quality of cinematographic excellence to the film. Another long-time Coen collaborator Carter Burwell provides an effective score, although people are more likely to remember the film for its highly effective use of the Jefferson Airplane song, “Somebody to Love.” The Coens’ comedy is extremely strong, with a highlight being a long and winding anecdote told by a rabbi to Gopnik that ultimately leads nowhere.

It is highly likely that there is a lot in A Serious Man that I did not fully comprehend – the Coen brothers are simply smarter than I am. That is not to say that the film has a superior attitude about it or that it is mired in pretension – not at all, but it is asking some deep and meaningful questions, with some Biblical allegory to boot, and it may be above a lot of people’s pay grades. The film also features an abundance of Hebrew that I plainly did not understand, and this content is rarely explained to the uninitiated within the audience. Even two years on the Coen masterpiece No Country for Old Men still bamboozles and frustrates people, and A Serious Man is sure to do much the same.

A Serious Man is not going to be for everyone, but if you are a viewer who has faith in the Coens and enjoy their work, check it out. It is one of the best films of the year so far.