A serious man: Movie review

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Originally published at https://chandankarkera.blogspot.com/ on Saturday, February 9, 2013
Picture courtesy Wikipedia

Saw this movie on a whim, and I am glad that I did so! I remember being interested in the movie as it was written and directed by the Coen brothers - Ethan and Joel.

“Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you.”
― Rashi

The movie begins with this message. The next ten minutes are devoted to a sequence which happens at an age much earlier than in which the movie is shown. The connection between this sequence and the rest of the movie will lead to debates after you have watched the movie! A serious man is about Larry Gopnik, a Jewish physics professor. The story is set in the 70's in a town in the U.S.

Larry's life is laden with signs, and he is trying to make sense of it all. He does not seem to get peace at work, at home, or even while he is around his home.His wife wants to divorce him for no reason. His son's Bar Mitzvah (Jewish coming of age ritual) is around the corner, but he is more interested in getting stoned and listening to the Airplane! His son is also incessantly worried about the T.V antenna. His daughter steals from his wallet, to save up for a nose job. His brother has set up camp at his house. At work, he gets a bribe from a student which he does not want to accept (but ends up accepting it ultimately). There is also some uncertainty about him keeping his job itself, much like the uncertainty surrounding the Schrodinger's cat, which features in his lectures. And we have his neighbour, brooding, very inclined to get into a tussle with him for no apparent reason.

A string of co incidences and misfortune later, Lary tries to make sense of things, with not much success. He then turns to a Rabbi, who is forever not available. Frustration is fomenting. The Junior Rabbi who is, speaks of things which do not make much sense.

Even though all of these things look dull and sad, the events have been presented with humour constantly flowing beneath. The sequence where the senior Rabbi returns Larry's son's confiscated radio is amazing and unexpected :) So is Larry's discussions with Clive, his student who bribes him.

There are a lot of Jewish terms used, you might want to familiarize yourself with them to help understand this movie better.

The beauty of such movies is the discussion that it spawns. Of why a particular scene is the way it is, or, what is the role of a character in the movie. The initial ten minutes, the ending sequence and many other nitty gritties will leave you pondering for quite a while, as to what the Coen brothers are trying to tell us :) For this and the way the humour mingles with glum events, I liked this movie!

Mazel Tov!!

*I do not own any of these images. All pictures courtesy their respective owners*

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