A SERIOUS MAN A Coen Brothers Movie Larry Gopnik is a man with a plethora of problems. His wife has not only decided to run off with one of his best friends, but in order to stay close with her lover, has also forced him to depart from the marital home. His daughter is regularly stealing money from his wallet in order to finance her prospective nose operation, while his son would rather watch a sit-com over taking his Jewish studies. His job is under threat, as someone is writing anonymous letters in an attempt to thwart prospects of an extended tenure, while at the same time he stands accused of accepting a bribe from one of his students. On top of this, his layabout brother, a compulsive gambler, is now up for more serious criminal charges. Larry wonders , what he has done to deserve all this misfortune, hence turning to different level rabbis for answers. The only problem with the film was due to my lack of knowledge of the Jewish faith. I was struggling to understand the significance of their form of Karma. This however did not affect my viewing as I still found it watchable, having sympathy for Larry’s predicament, though I wished he would lose it with his family just to make them aware of how far they were testing him, but then again, that would have taken away the realism of the character. The story is set in the 1960s, which was very much reflected in the cinematography which definitely captures the feel of the time. It also served as a grim reminder of all the bigotry that was prevalent in those days. I would not deter anyone from watching this film. I wished I’d had more understanding of the faith as I would then have not have to view it from three points of view (customer, reviewer and religious student). © K. Payne (2009)
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