Possibly the brothers' most consistently amusing film since The Big Lebowski.
Comment
11/20/09
A Serious Man (2009)
87
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:159
Fresh:138
Rotten:21
Average Rating:7.8/10
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 CriticThe film is slow-burning and lugubrious but there is some amusement to be found in the parade of eccentric individuals, running jokes and repetitive dream sequences served up to illustrate the fact that life is one big cosmic joke.
11/20/09
To me, and I suspect the mass of the cinema-going public, it feels nasty and pointlessly vindictive. There's a hole in the middle of this movie, where a modicum of empathy and humanity ought to be.
11/20/09
A Serious Man may be the Coens' most personal film, but the humour's too oblique to truly trouble the funnybone.
11/27/09
A Serious Man, whether by accident or design, feels like a scratchier, more personal, less goofy version of the Coens’ aesthetic than they’ve revealed before. Here’s hoping their films get even more truculent in the future.
11/20/09
Top CriticIt's challenging, only if you want it to be. The secret to enjoying it, like life, is not to obsess over the bits that don't appear to make sense.
11/20/09
Admirably low-key, deeply compelling and their warmest movie since Fargo.
11/20/09
Top CriticAnother impudent and exquisitely engineered comedy from Joel and Ethan Coen.
11/20/09
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.
10/30/09
Top CriticEuphoric, sad and thoughtful all at once... The Coens have finished the noughties as America's pre-eminent film-makers.
11/20/09
Top CriticA bold, unique, exquisite gem.
11/20/09
Comedy, even tragicomedy, should not feel like such hard work.
11/20/09
Admirers of the Coens – including those who have lapsed, like myself – will rejoice in their best film for a long while, and one of their most irreducibly oddball.
11/27/09
For proof of comedy and tragedy’s close relationship, watch this. Larry is essentially having a nervous breakdown yet it’s the Coens’ most humanely funny script in years.
11/20/09
While the plot might not have the epic sweep of No Country For Old Men or be the comedy bloodbath of Fargo, this film is every bit their equal.
11/20/09
This film is at once laugh-out-loud funny and deeply serious, troubling and satisfying, warm and bleak, both respectful of the Jewish heritage and mocking its restrictions and false comforts.
11/27/09
Rigorously controlled, perhaps at the expense of a little emotional light and shade, this is one of the Coens' subtlest films. Expect smiles, grimaces, a slightly furrowed brow, and, finally, a feeling of satisfaction.
11/20/09
Not vintage Coen brothers... but they're still filmmakers to love, even if they sometimes make it increasingly difficult to do so.
11/20/09
It's impeccable filmmaking, with the Coens' expert writing, directing and editing enhanced by Roger Deakins' vibrant cinematography.
11/20/09
The Coen brothers most personal film to date, a typically shkrewy look at Jewishness that smartly nails the ticky-tackiness of American suburbia in 1967.
11/20/09
Latest News for A Serious Man
October 19, 2009:
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For more than two decades now, Joel and Ethan Coen have been thrilling critics -- and, here and there, audiences -- with their distinctive blend of dark humor, colorful... More...
October 01, 2009:
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This week at the movies, we've got zombie zaniness (Zombieland, starring Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg); derby dolls (Whip it, starring Drew Barrymore and Ellen Page);... More...
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...
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