We saw A Serious Man last night.  As we were exiting the theater, Dan said, “I saw you look at your watch halfway through.  What’d you think?”

Yep.  Looking at my watch is my personal kiss-of-death.  It means I’m wondering how much longer I have to suffer.

Let’s see.  Where to start?

A woman in the audience ahead of us kept pointing and exclaiming at the people on screen.  Obviously, she knew them.  The Coen brothers did use local actors, and most of the filming took place in Bloomington, MN.  You can read the engaging production notes of the Coens here.

In short, the movie is a modern-day retelling of Job.  Larry Gopnik is a Jewish physics professor, and everything about his life starts to unravel at the seams…and never stops.

The movie is beautifully shot.  The dialogue is superb.  The acting is great.

But nothing happens.  I mean, things happen, but of the humdrum sort, where you begin to wonder if there’s any purpose to the telling of this story.  Since the story is based on another ancient bleak story, it’s safe to say that we’re not supposed to feel closure; we’re not supposed to feel good.  Life is hard and…life is hard.  End of story.

The best parts of the movie, in my humble opinion, are the conversations that Larry has with the rabbis (who are stand-ins for the three misguided friends of Job in the Bible).  Larry pleads to know why God is doing this to him, and the rabbis find various ways of making sense of the catastrophes.  The advice is nonsensical at times, and you wonder if the Coen brothers are poking fun at clergy who give easy and glib answers.  If so, they did a heck of a job.

Poor Larry is a doormat.  He’s a fish.  You begin to wonder if this isn’t the reason his life is going down the tubes.  No external reasons…just that he’s incapable of standing up and taking charge.  You know, like the adage goes, “You gotta meet God halfway” and Larry is unable to do even that?

If you view the movie this way, then it’s sadly humorous–how Larry is running around, wondering “why?” when he could very easily solve his own problems and get on with life.

A good lesson to learn, but painful, when you want something to happen on the screen (that will make getting a babysitter and driving 80 miles to see the movie worthwhile).

And I say all this with great unhappiness, because I always look forward to seeing what the Coen brothers will come up with next.  I mean, come on, have you seen Burn After Reading yet?  Hilarious!

[For those of you who have seen A Serious Man, or will still see it, could you please explain to me how that whole separate opening story fits in?  I’ve been racking my brain over that one.]

Have a pleasant and relaxing Sunday, y’all!

[Post image: A Serious Man movie still]