Joel and Ethan Coen, "the Coen brothers", are probably my favorite filmmakers. Raising Arizona, Fargo, Miller's Crossing, The Big Lebowski, No Country For Old Men. These movies are masterpieces in my mind. Sure, the brothers have made some stinkers here and there (most of them starring George Clooney, whom I have long loathed for reasons I won't get into at this moment). But for the most part, these guys are immensely talented, succeeding tremendously in virtually every arena, from comedy to drama to suspense. Though what exactly are the elements that bind their films? That is, what are the trademarks of the Coen brothers? Hard to pinpoint, not only because of their variety, but the originality of the movies themselves transcend categories. Overall, they are unconventional, and indeed often ridiculous. The dialogue is sharp, witty and grandiose (The Big Lebowski is probably the most quotable movie ever, way more than Casablanca). Finally there is an insidious sense of irreverence and nihilism that may manifest as abrupt, grotesque violence (e.g. the woodchipper scene in Fargo, virtually every scene with Javier Bardiem in No Country for Old Men), or sudden, seemingly anticlimactic endings (Barton Fink) or animalistic howling in despair (Rasing Arizona, Fargo, Miller's Crossing) or, as their latest film, A Serious Man, demonstrates, continuous onslaught of punishment upon the innocent.A Serious Man essentially is the story of Job set in a Midwestern Jewish community during the late 1960s. Larry Gopnik, played by Michael Stuhlbarg (yeah the entire cast is pretty much unrecognizable) is Job in this case. He is a happy physics professor with a wife, kids, house, the whole bit, and then suddenly for no apparent reason his life falls apart. Gopnik, the scientist in search for answers, tries to understand why he is suffering such misfortunes despite leading a virtuous life. Finally after much persuasion and desperation, he turns to the temple, where the rabbis are as useless as tits on a bull.
Gopnik's pitfalls and search for meaning are more comedic than tragic when presented through the eyes of the Coen brothers. His suffering reminded me of the hilarious lemonade vendor's "slow burn" from Marx Brothers' Duck Soup [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZOlrZNIod0 ] only about 90 minutes longer and in color. The laughs aren't big or even all that frequent though, and overall I'd say there's nothing supremely impressive about this movie as compared to their previous work. Perhaps the one striking thing about this movie is that it seems to paradoxically put forth the message that there is no message... shit happens and then you die. So let's all get drunk and play ping-pong!
P.S. I tried on three separate occasions to see this movie but was denied, once because it was sold out, and twice because the internet said it was playing at the theatre when it actually was not! When I went to buy tickets the first time and the vendor told me it was sold out, I was like "Are you serious....man?"
