by Michael Sullivan

Before you read this review, I want you to watch this trailer. I've been pretty hard on a lot of film ad campaigns this year, because a lot of them have misrepresented their films so poorly, it's been impossible to ignore. So, for the first time, I'd like to applaud one for getting it right. This trailer is a symphony of sounds and feelings, frustrations and cacophonies that echo the frustrations and cacophonies of the film. A Serious Man (2009) is an utter symphony of tragedy, and this ad got it just right.

The film follows serious man Larry Gopnick (Michael Stuhlbarg) as his once peaceful suburban life accumulates a collection of minor inconveniences that compound one another to suffocate this modern-day Job. At work, as a physics professor, Larry's bid for tenure is threatened by a disgruntled Korean student who tries to bribe him for an "A." At home, Larry's wife asks for a divorce so she can be with the widower Sy Ableman (an absolutely outstanding performance by Fred Melamed). His son's quickly approaching bar mitzvah has him strapped for cash, and car repairs and his brother's legal troubles aren't exactly helping. All the while, Larry makes periodic visits to local rabbis, hoping to glean pearls of wisdom from their experience and religious learning.

As my opening paragraph likely suggests, this film has excellent sound design. And I'm not even saying it had any spectacularly great effects or a particularly stunning soundtrack (though the Jefferson Airplane motif was very much appreciated). I mean the way sight and sound engage in this dance-like, complementary give and take is stunning. The Coen brothers have often been applauded for their meticulous sound mixing, but I have never seen it more evident and superb than in this film.

Literarily, A Serious Man is what we've come to expect from Coen comedies. It hinges on subtleties and repetitions--repeated phrases, repeated shots, repeated situations. They've been making films for 25 years now, and they've gotten their techniques down to a fine art. A Serious Man runs like a well oiled machine, or at least as much as a stunning, original piece of art can run like a well oiled machine. Be aware that, while the Coen brothers are very highly respected by myself and other critics alike, they are an acquired taste. If you think their films are slow, and are often frustrated by their signature anti-climaxes (it happens three times in this one), you'll find this film slow and anticlimactic. But if you've liked even a single one of their previous films, I'm confident you'll love this one.

Stop whatever you're doing and go see this movie now! It's a sharp film. Certainly among their best. There is no better excuse to leave your house than this.