A Serious Man

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A Serious Man

R

Released Oct 2, 2009

1h 45m

Comedy

Drama

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Popcornmeter

89%

Tomatometer

222 Reviews

68%

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50,000+ Ratings

Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) is a physics professor at a 1960s university, but his life is coming apart at the seams. His wife (Sari Lennick) is leaving him, his jobless brother (Richard Kind) has moved in, and someone is trying to sabotage his chances for tenure. Larry seeks advice from three different rabbis, but whether anyone can help him overcome his many afflictions remains to be seen.

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Critics Consensus

Blending dark humor with profoundly personal themes, the Coen brothers deliver what might be their most mature -- if not their best -- film to date.

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Deborah Ross

The Spectator

Does have its delicious moments and Michael Stuhlbarg does give an excellent, exasperated, frazzled lead performance... But without any warmth or expansiveness it all seems too cruelly easy and shrivelling somehow.

Aug 30, 2018

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Ed Koch

The Atlantic

The entire script is a mishmash: funny, droll, and anxiety producing, just like daily life in many Jewish families.

Jan 17, 2018

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Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

See this movie for a good laugh, and know that no matter what's going on in your life, A Serious Man proves things can certainly get worse.

Rated: B

Sep 11, 2017

Full Review

Dan Bayer

Next Best Picture

With “A Serious Man,” Joel and Ethan Coen reached back into their past and deep into their souls to deliver something so personal that it could only become universal.

Rated: 10/10

Apr 11, 2025

Full Review

Sarah Vincent

Sarah G Vincent Views

It is as if the Coen Brothers are suggesting that the meaning of life is not in the answers that the story provides, but the immersion and joy of the story.

Jan 4, 2025

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

A tremendously complicated, intelligent, and intriguing motion picture, and arguably the Coen brothers' best, A Serious Man is curious as a narrative but wholly momentous as a parable.

Rated: 4/4

Mar 20, 2022

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Gareth v

While this is arguably the Coen brothers most mature film, it is also their most distant. Outside of a few scenes this is a hard slog at times.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

08/06/25

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thiago s

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajudou a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

04/11/25

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Francisco S

Tedious. I could'nt keep watching.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/16/25

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Dylan G

Thought-provoking movie -- you'd want to be in a headspace open to ambiguity, monotony, and confusion, which is all what the main character is going through. Presents a true-to-life type of trial of faith, basically like the Biblical story of Job, where the main character is beset by disappointments and harsh challenges without clarity. Very ambiguous ending, to boot!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/28/25

Full Review

Robert Z

After this movie, I don't know how the Coen bros. continued. To me, it was completely uninteresting and unfunny.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/26/25

Full Review

Emmy R

I enjoyed the film more while watching it-- not so much in it's totality. It was quite funny in a cringy dark humor way. However, I dislike the lesson and perspective on life that it offers. I thought the characters were weak and distasteful people and the film truly portrayed life as a meaningless, unjust, dreadful place. It leaves you feeling like you want to shake the pessimism off of you, like you have just spent time with intensely ungrateful, pessimistic people that preach their victimhood.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/11/25

Full Review

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Joel Coen

Director

Ethan Coen

Director

Michael Stuhlbarg

Larry Gopnik

Richard Kind

Uncle Arthur

Fred Melamed

Sy Ableman

Sari Lennick

Judith Gopnik

A Serious Man: Official Clip - Living Arrangements

2:38

A Serious Man: Official Clip - The Columbia Record Club

2:29

A Serious Man: Official Clip - Hardly a Crime

1:43

A Serious Man: Official Clip - I Am Not An Evil Man!

1:59

A Serious Man: Official Clip - The Bar Mitzvah

3:28

A Serious Man: Official Clip - Impending Storm

2:21

A Serious Man: Official Clip - Serious as a Heart Attack

1:58

A Serious Man: Official Clip - The Junior Rabbi

3:19

A Serious Man: Official Clip - The Uncertainty Principle

1:59

A Serious Man: Official Clip - Not a Frivolous Request

1:57

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Synopsis

Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) is a physics professor at a 1960s university, but his life is coming apart at the seams. His wife (Sari Lennick) is leaving him, his jobless brother (Richard Kind) has moved in, and someone is trying to sabotage his chances for tenure. Larry seeks advice from three different rabbis, but whether anyone can help him overcome his many afflictions remains to be seen.

Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Producer: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Screenwriter: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Distributor: Focus Features
Production Co: Relativity Media, Studio Canal, Working Title Films, Focus Features
Rating: R (Language|Brief Violence|Some Nudity)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 2, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 18, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $9.2M
Runtime: 1h 45m

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