The Coen brothers kick off the For Your Consideration ad race

"A Serious Man" - REVIEW

"I didn't do anything" is a phrase often said by Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) in the Coen brothers' latest cinematic oddity "A Serious Man", and for the most part, the statement is accurate. Opening with a quote from Rashi (paraphrase: receive what life gives you with simplicity) and a rewind back to what I'd assume are Gopnik's ancestors, the clash between belief in spirits and curses, and belief in the purely rational is established, and it will continue into the film's present-day (1967). Larry, as so many other reviews have said before, functions more or less as a Job figure: a man whose life just gets worse and worse even though Larry never really did anything wrong, and through it all, though he questions God's hand, he never doubts God's existence, even as things start to pile up. Like many Coen films, this one centers on characters (or in this case, a character) who is inherently good, but whose life falls apart due to a combination of fate and his/her own less-than-great choices.
However, in Larry Gopnik the Coens seem to have created their most innocent suffering protagonist yet. When Larry says he didn't do anything, it's pretty much true. He's been faithful to his wife, who now wants a special religious divorce so she can marry a neighbor with whom she's developed a connection, and manages to uphold his academic integrity when one of his students tries to bribe him for a better grade, among other incidents. There's also his squabbling kids, one of whom is stealing money to buy pot all while zoning out in Hebrew school to the songs of Jefferson Airplane. There's also the matter of two new neighbors: a family of rednecks who may or may not be anti-Semetic, and a very attractive single woman who likes to sunbathe nude. So what does Larry do in the face of all of these mounting problems? He decides to visit three very different rabbis, hopefuy that one of the men will give him the answer he so desperately needs.
I've actually just given you the entire plot of "A Serious Man", but surprisingly, this isn't a spoiler. Why? Because the joy here is in the way Joel and Ethan Coen, by now masters of this sort of film, beautifully craft this near-constant downward spiral that is certainly dark, but also filled with surprisingly hilarity that won't elicit laughs from Jews alone. The way in which the Coens gradually, almost imperceptibly, turn up the tension and intensity beautifully shows their command of the craft of filmmaking, particularly in the humor. Whereas the Coens' 2008 offering, the star-studded "Burn After Reading", was a well-made film that suffered from forced, inorganic attempts of humor, "A Serious Man", much like "The Big Lebowski" or more closely, "Fargo", finds its humor in organic, real ways, never trying too hard to turn some odd idiosyncrasy into a joke. The dialogue that hits home isn't forced or constructed for the sole purpose of being "catchy" or "easily quotable", but instead is natural, making the funniest moments come with a delightful amount of surprise. And, much like "Lebowski" or "Fargo", the storytelling gradually becomes more compelling, while somehow maintaining an outward appearance of being totally relaxed. The early portions particularly may seem to be too relaxed, but they are in fact all part of the superb build-up that the Coens accomplish.
The Coens have a long history of getting good work from their casts, and "A Serious Man" is no exception here by any means. Stuhlbarg makes Larry a character with whom we can feel as he suffers, even though some of his troubles are meant to be taken as bleakly funny. As for the supporting cast, no one has a stand-out supporting role. However, the supporting ensemble as a collective is incredible, particularly Richard Kind as Larry's brother Arthur, and Fred Melamed as Sy Ableman, the man Larry's wife is leaving him for. It's movies like this that make me wish there was an Oscar for Best Ensemble Cast, because while the supporting roles taken individually may be too small to garner any deserved attention, as a collective they pack a wallop.
Artistically and technically the film is superb. Though slow and not entirely clear during its opening scenes, the Coens, once again working under the fake persona of Roderick Jaynes, edit this story to near-perfection. They're aided by long-time cinematographer Roger Deakins (why does this man not have an Oscar yet?), who frames and lights the shots with subtle richness, and nails a handful of scenes when characters are high on pot. And though his music is rarely heard, long-time collaborator Carter Burwell (also, why does this man not have an Oscar?) provides the occasional smattering of low-key, effective music.
I've saved one last piece of the story for the end, and it happens to be, well, the end. The Coens practically made headlines with their abrupt, mystifying ending to "No Country for Old Men", and "A Serious Man" ends in a similarly mystifying way. And while, unlike "No Country", I still have yet to begin to decipher the full meaning of the ending, it does function as a strange, full-circle point in the Coens' careers. Roger Ebert said in his review (again, I'm only paraphrasing here), "it is often said that parables contain clues to their full meaning in their final lines," and "A Serious Man" seems to be no exception. The ending, both confusing and heart-stopping, is a testament to the Coens' strange talents as filmmakers. I may never fully grasp what the ending to "A Serious Man" means, but in a sense it doesn't matter. The mystery almost makes it all better, in what may be the most mature (behind "No Country") film of the Coens' careers, and a more than worthy successor to their crowning achievement from two years ago. Serious and seriously funny, "A Serious Man" will certainly be as divisive as previous Coen brothers films, but for those who can open themselves to their odd little way of making movies, it's also seriously good filmmaking.

Grade: B+/A-

Results of Indiewire's TIFF polls released, and they're quite interesting

I love that "Up in the Air" got love here, but what's really shocking is that "A Serious Man" actually came in first, AND its star, the unknown Michael Stuhlberg, came in third in the Best Lead Performance category. Nice to see some more love for Colin Firth and Tilda Swinton as well.

Source: Indiewire

TIFF ‘09 SURVEY RESULTS:

BEST NARRATIVE FILM:
1. A Serious Man, directed by Joel and Ethan Coen (63 points)
2. City of Life and Death, directed by Chuan Lu (20)
3. Up In The Air, directed by Jason Reitman (18)
3. A Prophet, directed by Jacques Audiard (18)
5. Dogtooth, directed by Giorgos Lanthimos (17)
6. Precious, directed by Lee Daniels (16)
7. I Am Love, directed by Luca Guadagnino (11)
7. Hadewijch, directed by Bruno Dumont (11)
7. A Single Man, directed by Tom Ford (11)
7. Lebanon, directed by Samuel Maoz (11)

BEST DOCUMENTARY:
1. Videocracy, directed by Erik Gandini (24)
2. Collapse, directed by Chris Smith (17)
3. The Art of the Steal, directed by Don Argott (16)
4. The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls, directed by Leanne Pooley (10)
5. How To Hold a Flag, directed by Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker (9)

BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE:
1. Colin Firth in “A Single Man” (13)
2. Tilda Swinton in “I Am Love (12)
2. Michael Stuhlbarg in “A Serious Man” (12)
4. Tahar Rahim in “A Prophet” (10)
5. Anne Dorval in “I Killed My Mother” (9)
5. Nicolas Cage in “The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” (9)
5. Matt Damon in “The Informant!” (9)
5. Katie Jarvis in “Fish Tank” (9)

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE
1. Mo’Nique in “Precious” (17)
1. Anna Kendrick in “Up In The Air” (17)
3. The supporting cast of “A Serious Man”** (11)
4. Vera Farmiga in “Up In The Air” (10)
5. Julianne Moore in “A Single Man” (6)
5. Michael Fassbender in “Fish Tank” (6)

** Richard Kind, Fred Melamed, Sari Lennick, Aaron Wolff and Benjy Portnoe received a combined total of 11, though individually no one got more than 3.

WORST FILM:
1. Jennifer’s Body, directed by Karyn Kusama (8)
2. Dorian Gray, directed by Oliver Parker (7)
2. Trash Humpers, directed by Harmony Korine (7)
4. Creation, directed by Jon Amiel (6)
5. Survival of the Dead, directed by George A. Romero (5)

First review for "A Serious Man"!!

Source: HollywoodElsewhere

Joel and Ethan Coen's A Serious Man is a brilliant LQTM black comedy that out-misanthropes Woody Allen by a country mile and positively seethes with contempt for complacent religious culture (in this case '60s era Minnesota Judaism). I was knocked flat in the best way imaginable and have put it right at the top of my Coen-best list. God, it's such a pleasure to take in something this acidic and well-scalpeled. The Coens are fearless at this kind of artful diamond-cutting.

A Serious Man star Michael Stuhlbarg on phone; Adam Arkin is the out-of-focus guy (i.e., an attorney) behind him.

The wickedly acidic and funereal tone and lack of stars means it isn't going to make a dime, but it's a high-calibre achievement by the most gifted filmmaking brothers of our time, and it absolutely must rank as one of the year's ten Best Picture nominees when all is said and done. The Academy fudgies will not be permitted to brush this one aside, and if they do there will be torches and pitchforks such as James Whale never imagined at the corner of Wilshire and La Peer.

The worldview of this maliciously wicked film (which isn't "no-laugh funny" as much as wicked-bitter-toxic funny, which I personally prize above all other kinds) is black as night, black as a damp and sealed-off cellar. Scene after scene tells us that life is drip-drip torture, betrayal and muted hostility are constants, all manner of bad things (including tornadoes) are just around the corner, your family and neighbors will cluck-cluck as you sink into quicksand, etc.

This is the stuff that true laughter is made of, and this is a genuinely wonderful film to sit through because of it. It's so refined and compressed and jewel-cut, so precisely calibrated and cold as nitrogen, and yet hilarious as Hades. Literally. I can't wait to catch it a second time.

Only a couple of tough Jewish filmmakers could make a film this despising and contemptuous of their own. And what a way to spur the sales of Jefferson Airplane CDs!

Joel and Ethan Coen

Set in 1969 or '71 (to judge by the music), A Serious Man is about a decent but fatally passive and acquiescent college (High school?) physics teacher named Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) and his family, along with his extended family of neighbors, synagogue members, rabbis, attorneys and whatnot who live in St. Louis Park, Minnesota -- a suburb of Minneapolis.

The story is about Gopnik grappling with one horrific threat and misfortune after another. His wife Judith (Sari Wagner Lennick, who looks like Mrs. Shrek minus the green skin) is planning to leave him for a 50ish grotesque named Sy Ableman (Fred Melamed). The father of a South Korean student looking for a better grade tries to bribe Gopnik and then sue him for defamation when he won't accept it. His application for tenure appears threatened. His no-account brother Arthur is living on the couch, and is being investigated by police for indecent behavior. There's a slim and foxy next-door neighbor who sunbathes nude in hetr back yard.

Every character in this film except for the teenage kids and the next-door nudist is an appalling Jewish grotesque. The grotesques in Mike Leigh's films have nothing on this bunch. The thought of actually being inside the head and the skin of one of these characters ...eewww! In a certain light A Serious Man is almost a kind of companion piece to Todd Browning's Freaks, except that Browning's film is greatly compassionate and caring and A Serious Man is anything but.

You know what this film philosophically is in a nutshell? That kiki joke I passed along a couple of years ago. The one about two anthropologists captured by cannibals in New Guinea, etc.? Chief to anthropologhists: "Death or kiki?" Anthropologist #1 chooses kiki and is beaten, tortured, whipped, flayed and eaten by crocodiles. The chief asks Anthropologist #2 the same question, and he says, "I'm not a brave man so I'll choose death." And the chief goes, "Very well, death...but first, kiki!"

Trailer for the Coen brothers' "A Serious Man"!

It's about time...

2009 Toronto Film Festival acquires even more titles...

Dorian Gray Oliver Parker, United Kingdom
World Premiere
In Victorian London, the handsome Dorian Gray (Ben Barnes) is swept into a social whirlwind by the charismatic and cunning Lord Wotton (Colin Firth). Immersed in the hedonistic pleasures of the city, Dorian vows he would give anything to keep his youth and beauty – even his soul. Based on the Oscar Wilde novel, Dorian Gray examines the destructive power of beauty, the blind pursuit of pleasure and the darkness that can result from both.

The Private Lives of Pippa Lee Rebecca Miller, USA
North American Premiere
From all outward appearances, Pippa Lee (Robin Wright Penn) leads a charmed existence. An anchor of feminine serenity, she is the devoted wife of an accomplished publisher (Alan Arkin) 30 years her senior, the proud mother of two grown children, a trusted friend and confidant. But as Pippa dutifully follows her husband to a new life in a staid Connecticut retirement community, her idyllic world and the persona she has built over the course of her marriage will be put to the ultimate test. Adapted from writer-director Rebecca Miller’s novel of the same name, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee presents the complex portrait of the many lives behind a single name.

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans Werner Herzog, USA
North American Premiere
Terence McDonagh (Nicolas Cage), a homicide detective with the New Orleans Police Department, is promoted to Lieutenant after he saves a prisoner from drowning in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. However, during his heroic act, he severely injures his back and is put on prescription pain medication. A year later, Terence – struggling with his addictions to sex, Vicodin and cocaine – finds himself in the battle to bring down drug dealer Big Fate, who is suspected of massacring an entire family of African immigrants.

Capitalism: A Love Story Michael Moore, USA
North American Premiere
On the 20-year anniversary of his groundbreaking masterpiece Roger & Me, Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story comes home to the issue he’s been examining throughout his career: the disastrous impact of corporate dominance on the everyday lives of Americans (and by default, the rest of the world). But this time the culprit is much bigger than General Motors, and the crime scene far wider than Flint, Michigan. From Middle America, to the halls of power in Washington, to the global financial epicenter in Manhattan, Michael Moore will once again take film-goers into uncharted territory.

Harry Brown Daniel Barber, United Kingdom
World Premiere
Harry Brown is a provocative and thought-provoking modern urban western featuring a tour-de-force lead performance from two-time Academy Award®-winner Michael Caine. Harry Brown has lived to see his community descend into crime and violence, and ruled over by a gang of teenage thugs. After his best friend is brutally murdered and the gang leader responsible walks free, Harry reaches a breaking point and revenge becomes his only aim.

Perrier’s Bounty Ian Fitzgibbon, Ireland/United Kingdom
World Premiere
When Michael’s (Cillian Murphy) debt to Dublin kingpin Darren Perrier (Brendan Gleeson) is called in and one of Perrier’s goons accidentally ends up dead, Michael escapes to the mountains with his father Jim (Jim Broadbent) and best friend, Brenda. Flat broke, on the run and with only 24 hours to pay up, Michael is forced to confront his true feelings for Brenda and make amends with his father. However, with Perrier and his gang in hot pursuit, time is running out for Michael and only fate, a bit of luck and possibly a gang of savage dogs will save him, in this cracking gangster comedy.

A Serious Man Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, USA
World Premiere
Imaginatively exploring questions of faith, familial responsibility, delinquent behaviour, dental phenomena, academia, mortality and Judaism – and intersections thereof – A Serious Man is the new film from Academy Award®-winning writer-directors Joel and Ethan Coen.

Triage Danis Tanovic, Ireland/Spain
World Premiere
Mark (Colin Farrell), a war photographer, returns home from Kurdistan without his friend and colleague David (Jamie Sives). As time goes on, it becomes clear that Mark holds the key to the truth of David’s disappearance.

Whip It Drew Barrymore, USA
World Premiere
Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut stars Ellen Page (Juno) as Bliss, a rebellious Texas teen who throws in her small-town beauty pageant crown for the rowdy world of roller-derby. Marcia Gay Harden (Mystic River, Pollock) plays Bliss’s disapproving mother, while Drew Barrymore, Kristen Wiig (Saturday Night Live) and Juliette Lewis (Old School) play roller-derby stars. Whip It also stars Eve, Jimmy Fallon, Daniel Stern, Alia Shawkat, Ari Graynor, Andrew Wilson, Zoe Bell and singer-songwriter Landon Pigg.

Women Without Men Shirin Neshat, Germany/France/Austria
North American Premiere
Shirin Neshat’s first feature-length film is based on a magic-realist novel written by Iranian author Sharnush Parsipur. The narrative interweaves the lives of four Iranian women during the summer of 1953, a pivotal moment in Iranian history when an American led coup d’état brought down the democratically elected prime minister Mohammed Mossadegh and reinstalled the Shah to power. The film chronicles each woman’s quest for change and their mysterious encounter in a magical orchard.