A Serious Man

A new review from The Movie Snob

A Serious Man (B). I skipped the last couple of offerings from the Coen brothers, but the reviews for this one caught for attention. Our local critic called it a modern retelling of the Book of Job, so I was intrigued. Setting aside a weird but interesting prologue, the movie is a slice from the life of a nondescript Jewish college professor named Larry Gopnick, circa 1967. Unlike Job, who is presented as being very rich and very holy, Larry seems to be a very ordinary guy--decent enough, but not particularly virtuous. Some things start to go wrong in his life, and he begins to question whether there is any justice in the universe. Is there a God behind it all? And if so, what is he trying to tell poor Larry, who repeatedly protests, "I didn't do anything!" But then, could that be the very reason his life is starting to fall apart? I really got engrossed in the movie and was eager to see how it all played out for poor Larry, but the ending let me down a little bit. In hindsight, though, it's probably not a bad ending. Anyway, I enjoyed it, and if you see it in a thoughtful frame of mind I think you will too.