#5. A Serious Man
Director/Writers/Producers: Coens. Bros
Distributor: Focus Feature.
The Gist: The story follows an ordinary mans search for clarity in a universe where Jefferson Airplane is on the radio and F-Troop is on TV. It is 1967, and Larry Gopnik, a physics professor at a quiet midwestern university, has just been informed by his wife Judith that she is leaving him. She has fallen in love with one of his more pompous colleagues, Sy Ableman, who seems to her a more substantial person than the feckless Larry. Larrys unemployable brother Arthur is sleeping on the couch, his son Danny is a discipline problem and a shirker at Hebrew school, and his daughter Sarah is filching money from his wallet in order to save up for a nose job. While his wife and Sy Ableman blithely make new domestic arrangements, and his brother becomes more and more of a burden, an anonymous hostile letter-writer is trying to sabotage Larrys chances for tenure at the university. Also, a graduate student seems to be trying to bribe him for a passing grade while at the same time threatening to sue him for defamation. Plus, the beautiful woman next door torments him by sunbathing nude. Struggling for equilibrium, Larry seeks advice from three different rabbis. Can anyone help him cope with his afflictions and become a righteous person; a mensch, a serious man?
Fact: This is the tenth time that the brothers work with DoP Roger Deakins.
Why is it on the list?: For obvious reasons: It’s the Coens brothers and I’m looking forward to the film where I know next to nothing about the film’s cast, which was the case when we were introduced to William H. Macy from Fargo.
Release Date/Status?: It skipped Cannes, but I could have sworn that the film was ready. Instead, look for a double presence at both Venice and Toronto. Focus Features releases the pic on October 2nd in limited release.
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