Thursday, November 12, 2009
That biblical character Job had it easy compared to poor Larry Gopnick.
A Serious Man is the Coen Brothers’ newest and darkest comic fable, an off-beat study in preternatural doom that would feel more like an outright tragedy if it weren’t laced with some of the year’s funniest performances and dialogue. And watch out for that ending.
At first glance, timid physics professor Larry Gopnick (Michael Stuhlbarg) seems to be enjoying his meager lot in life. He’s on the cusp of receiving tenure and his youngest son Danny (Aaron Wolff) is about to celebrate his bar mitzvah.
Then, all at once, Larry’s life falls apart. A student starts blackmailing him for a passing grade. An anonymous tormentor sends accusatory letters to the university in a bid to obstruct his tenure application. His wife (Sari Lennick) abruptly leaves him for an older, wealthier professor named Sy Ableman (Fred Melamed). Soon Larry finds himself stranded in the Jolly Roger Motel with no one for company but his dim-witted brother Arthur (Richard Kind).
Desperate to know why he has become fate’s whipping boy, Larry seeks the counsel of three local rabbis, each more eminent and respectable than the last. But none of these holy men have any real insight into life and its karmic ambiguities. One even dispenses Jefferson Airplane lyrics as nuggets of cosmic wisdom.
The film’s casting is nearly pitch perfect. Stuhlbarg, a longtime stage actor making his big screen debut here, makes the audience feel every ounce of Larry’s pain and exasperation but exaggerates just enough for us to still find it hilarious. The other acting highlight of the film is the great Fred Melamed as the honey-toned usurper Ableman.
A Serious Man may never reach the heights of previous Coen masterworks such as Barton Fink or The Big Lebowski, but this is still cerebral entertainment of the highest order. Larry’s miseries are never fully explained (a family curse may be the cause) but the moral is clear: Never expect rational behavior from an inherently irrational universe. That’s pretty deep for a (supposed) comedy. But then comedy, as the Coens fully understand, has always been a rather serious business.
Verdict: Three and a half stars
Unlicensed: A T-Shirt Tale
Meet Larry Sinks, the man behind JoeCollege.com and its controversial T-shirts.
Moffitt: Life lessons from Woody Allen
Woody Allen's classic films have a lot to tell us about love ...
Extinguishing the Gaslight's last flame
The Gaslight Tavern, a hippie hangout in the 1960s and a popular ...
Movie review
The Darjeeling Limited
Abnormal arms, but ample ability
How one student aims to transform disability's definition.
Taking on the color barrier, twice
Thirty years after becoming the first black KU athletes, three brothers fought ...
Nichols: Why an old person shouldn't make ...
The Hitchcock guide to a good scare
Take a break from gore-filled horror films such as Hostel and Saw ...
Student strives to be on stage
Shipley, a fan of acting and stand-up comedy for years, discusses her ...
Q&A: directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, ...
Because we have questions. Celebrities have answers.
Question & answer with Paul Rudd
TV show review: Breaking Bad
Earns three out of four stars
A question of identity
The Comanche Nation informed KU that a professor who claims he's Comanche ...
Fever Pitch
Movie Review: Kung Fu Hustle
This movie is garbage. It's perfect!
A look at Lawrence’s cult film scene and a guide to understanding ...
Identity crisis: Avery's story
Avery was born a woman, but has changed his appearance to match ...
Love outlasts a lifetime
One Jayplay writer remembers her grandpa and his positive influence.
Movie Review: Cursed
Bad News Billy
Samp: Confusing expectations in dating
Men shouldn't be the only ones doing the courting during a relationship.
‘Confrontational Evangelist’
Brother Jed, a self-proclaimed preacher, travels around to college campuses in order ...
The Buc starts here
After troubled past, former Jayhawk Talib is ready to live his dream ...
Latter-day stripper
Tori — as she is known on stage — has been dancing ...
Simien makes move to minister
Former Kansas basketball player Wayne Simien has turned from NBA to sports ...
What three men can do
How Johnson, Brown and Manning rejuvenated Kansas basketball.
Porn Star Profile: Jody Maxwell
Erotica star talks about Midwest roots.
Three students share their coming out stories
Growing up in the conservative Midwest, some students find Lawrence a place ...
The Real World: KU
As we settle into another school year, students realize that college life ...
A professor’s story about alcoholic past
Paul Sneed, professor of Portuguese language and Brazilian literature and culture, talks ...
Jenks: Lebron's decision makes basketball sense
Lebron James did what any smart business man would do.
A look at KU's changing face of ...
University's turbulent past has evolved into a somewhat tranquil state of activism.
Nowhere to run
Former KU running back June Henley couldn't adjust to life without football. ...
Review: Films
Greg Giraldo comes to campus
The Comedy Central InDecision 2008 tour is bringing comedian Greg Giraldo to ...
Coming out into freedom
Queers and Allies will host a speaker Tuesday in honor of National ...
Lights, camera, action
Rush on the road to recovery
Junior guard hopes to return by start of December after several months ...
Friends and family remember talented athlete
Malicious Intimacy
Four students' experiences with domestic violence.
Kansas Jayhawk fans hold aloft a reproduction of ...
2 comments
Erin Saupe, a Ph.D. student from St. Cloud, ...
1 comment
0 comments
Armed robbers continue to threaten.
3 comments
Lecture from Greg Mortenson, co-author of New York ...
0 comments
KUnited presidential candidate Libby Johnson and vice presidential ...
1 comment
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID