A Serious Man (2009)

Perfectly adorable

Brilliant and touching

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

I enjoy movies for the same reason many people love novels. They're an escape. A great story will take you on a journey through different worlds and will cause you to commit emotionally to it. I appreciate great acting, great direction, great cinematography, and great special effects. Some movie fans appreciate those technical aspects even more so than I because they are what make a movie "art". They can enjoy a movie merely because of superb performances of its cast regardless of the story. But, for me, I cannot call a movie "great" unless it tells a great story."A Serious Man" had some great acting. It did transport me to a different world. For a short while I lived as a middle class Jewish man in the 1970's. Those are the only good things I have to say about the movie. For me "A Serious Man" was a waste of time. The description on Netflix said, "His wife wants out. His son's a pothead. His rabbi can't help him. Poor schlub. He could do worse, but not by much." That is exactly what happens in the movie. That and nothing else. This is one of those movies where stuff happens to characters in the movie, but nothing gets resolved. Nothing is finalized. Nothing is settled. Nothing is explained. I said earlier I did feel like I was a middle class Jewish man in the 1970's. That is only because the movie makers did a good job of re-creating that world with cars, costumes, music, and props of the era. However, I would prefer reading about this era and lifestyle from an encyclopedia versus spending 115 minutes watching this movie. An encyclopedia article would have as much closure as this storyline does, it would take only a fraction of the time, and it would be equally as enjoyable. I was left so unfulfilled and dissatisfied by the movie that I had to look it up to find more about it. Who made this piece of garbage? Did it go direct to DVD? Was it a college art student's project film? That's when I found out it was written by the Cohen brothers, and it was nominated for best original screenplay and best picture. It's pretty clear the only people that like this movie are the art snobs, exactly the kind of people at the Academy. If this is an example of a "best original screen play" and "best movie" nominee I can understand why we have so many super hero movies coming out now days.

I don't get why this movie is so highly rated. To begin with, I couldn't even watch it in one sitting. The protagonist (Larry) seems to be an intelligent man, but almost has nothing under his control. The thing that he keeps repeating about himself always boil down to him "not doing anything". He doesn't know his wife is having an affair, or that his kids are brats who show little appreciation for their family. To top it off, he's being blackmailed by his own student. It makes for a very sorry state of affairs, with Larry not exactly tackling anything at all.I'm not even going to mention how helpless I felt seeing him suffer through all this. Though most of his problems just magically evaporate later on, I can't seem to help and wonder how inert he remained to the entire situation. You can see now how much I did not like Larry.Here's a warning to others who decide to watch this movie thinking it'll be an off-beat comedy flick to enjoy in their free time.

Not sure how anyone can like this movie -it is a caricature of Judaism, with enough angst to make Woody Allen appear absolutely stable! This is just an exercise in self-indulgence by the Coen brothers and whatever other 'artist' felt we had to be subjected to this drivel. To paraphrase another reviewer - it has no action, no suspense, no plot, no ending... Don't waste your time unless you are into these types of films. The main character is bewildered by normal aspects of life, has lost all control of/influence over his family, and apparently has no backbone. He doesn't react normally to shocking events, and takes no steps to take control of his life. OK - he talks to some Rabbis, who are pretty useless. Gentiles are treated as if they're an alien species. If I was Jewish I'd be embarrassed and mad at the producers of such stereotypes in the 21st century - and boring ones to boot!

The Coen Brothers are masters of their craft. Few filmmakers today can combine genres, produce stunningly original stories, and master every aspect of cinematic technique like they can. "A Serious Man" is among their most recent efforts, and it is also among their greatest.It's a black comedy that relies more on character and situation than actual plot (somewhat like another darkly humorous Coens masterpiece, "Inside Llewyn Davis") that focuses around a middle aged Jewish father and husband whose life transforms into a storm of chaos and really, REALLY bad luck. Here, the Coens wonderfully weave elements of hilarious humor and gut wrenching tragedy all at once. Some scenes are both sad and funny, and the Coens are such masters that these two genres to not clash together in a chaotic way, but, instead, a very natural, effective way. The Coens realize that even when life is at its absolute worse, it can still be hilarious-which is really the essence of dark humor within itself. It makes the worst, most miserable aspects of being funny.There is no real happy ending here, much is left unresolved. It is a mysterious ending, the type that audiences like to groan at. However, for a film as unique and dark as this it works quite well. There is no need for a resolution, the ending itself is powerful enough to conclude the fascinating fable. The final shot of this film is so beautiful, haunting, and indescribably sad it packs a punch for the ages.