Joel and Ethan Coen have been very prolific filmmakers over the past two decades. Over that span they have delivered a number of great films (Fargo, O Brother, Where Art Thou?). During the same period they have also been behind some not so great films (The Ladykillers, Intolerable Cruelty). The best thing about the brothers is that even at their worst, they still turn in films that exist outside of the Hollywood machine. Their ability to remain independent should be applauded. This allows them to create films like A Serious Man, a film that lands decidedly in the middle of good and bad.
A Serious Man is an interesting film that I am positive I do not completely get. I walked in unsure of what it was going to be. My sole source of knowledge was the trailer, which is pretty fantastic if you ask me. Well, there I went, into that darkened theater looking forward to this latest Coen creation.
For the better part of two hours, I sat there mystified by what transpired. What was I watching? It all began with an opening sequence that I could not reconcile with the rest of the film. It is set in Poland some time in the past. A man comes home and tells his wife of an amazingly fortuitous happening while out on the road. He is beaming, but his wife lays a bomb on him. Yes, it is an odd opening that I am sure means something to the rest of the movie, but I could not tell you what.
I could be accused of watching movies merely on the surface. I often find it difficult to pierce the veil between what the movie is and what the movie is about. I think I have gotten better at it over the years, but there are still moments where that veil is more like a brick wall around a panic room. That is what A Serious Man was like for me. I got some of it, I liked some of it, but I am not quite able to ultimately get what the big picture is really about.
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