The Coen brothers may just have made their masterpiece with this, their 14th feature and yet another hairpin-bend change of direction, which has been their trademark for their entire career.
Comment
10/30/09
A Serious Man (2009)
85
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:119
Fresh:101
Rotten:18
Average Rating:7.7/10
Consensus: Blending dark humor with profoundly personal themes, the Coen brothers deliver what might be their most mature -- if not their best -- film to date.
Rated: 15 [See Full Rating]
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:20-11-2009
Synopsis: Imaginatively exploring questions of faith, familial responsibility, delinquent behavior, dental phenomena, academia, mortality, and Judaism - and intersections thereof - A Serious Man is the new... [More]
Starring: Michael Stuhlbarg, Fred Melamed, Richard Kind, Aaron Wolf
Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Reviews for A Serious Man
Top CriticImpressively directed, hugely enjoyable black comedy from the Coen Brothers, with a superb script and a terrific central performance from Michael Stuhlbarg.
10/30/09
...emotionally authentic and genuinely interested in the philosophical questions it raises.
11/07/09
A Serious Man somehow manages to be simultaneously incredibly intimate and autobiographical and yet so unrealistic as to verge on science fiction.
11/06/09
The only thing missing from the film -- which is frequently amusing but too bleak to be consistently laugh-out-loud funny -- is a genuine connection with its audience.
11/06/09
A Great Film To Make You Think About Religion and Cosmic Forces While Making the Nasty Side of Your Mind Chuckle.
11/04/09
Never has a movie packed with so much hostility or existential angst made me smile from start to finish as this one did.
11/04/09
Larry's spiritual crisis doesn't attain its demanded empathy, leaving A Serious Man as a lesser work by great artists.
11/04/09
A profoundly disturbing movie, all the more so because it's so damned hilarious. I think it's a great film; one that is finally worthy of all the hoopla that usually attends the Cohen's movies.
11/03/09
Far more relatable than the Coens' recent work, and one cannot watch it without pondering some questions about the meaning of trials and the nature of fate.
10/31/09
Filmmaking brothers Joel and Ethan Coen explore their Jewish roots in their most personal film to date. You don't have to be Jewish to appreciate the subtle ethnic humor, but it wouldn't hurt.
10/30/09
The brothers’ deadpan style is hugely effective -- so much so that even if you hate the message you enjoy the messengers.
10/30/09
Takes the concept of the self-loathing Jew to an arguably loathsome new level...
10/30/09
No fan of the Coen Brothers' movies wouldn't miss A Serious Man, but for the uninitiated, this one may be tough sledding.
10/30/09
Bleak and tedious, it's an ambivalent memoir about Biblical adversity, filled with edgy, alienating angst.
10/28/09
Grappling with massive cosmic mysteries on a deceptively mundane stage, it's a film about the silence of God, seething with profound existential panic... viewed through the hilariously cracked prism of everyday suburban minutiae.
10/27/09
A Serious Man buckles and cleaves and tugs at the buttons like a badly tailored suit, and really, what better metaphor could there be for the plight of the downtrodden Everyman?
10/27/09
A sumptuous cinematic feast, and kosher to boot!
10/25/09
All the Coens come up with is a movie about bad things happening to limited people.
10/23/09
Joel and Ethan Coen have the ability to sit their audience down in front of a black screen and make them feel comfortable with two very important factors: 1) They will not understand everything that’s going on, and 2) they won’t care.
10/23/09
Latest News for A Serious Man
October 19, 2009:
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September 25, 2009:
Friday Harvest: A Serious Man, Up in the Air, and more!
Happy Friday Harvest, a weekly round-up of the best pictures, posters, and videos that have become available for viewing/download on Rotten Tomatoes. Each section features the... More...
September 09, 2009:
Buzz Builds for Toronto International Film Festival Offerings 
It'll feature more than 250 films from 60 countries, but don't feel overwhelmed -- the Los Angeles Times is here to help you sift through what's on offer at this year's Toronto... More...
More Movies
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 85% | A Serious Man | 20/11 |
| 82% | Examined Life | 20/11 |
| 76% | The Informant | 20/11 |
| — | Glorious 39 | 20/11 |
| — | The First Day of the R… | 20/11 |
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