A Serious Man

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A Serious Man

R

2009

1h 45m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

89%

Tomatometer

221 Reviews

68%

Popcornmeter

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

08/30/2018

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.

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Ed Koch

The Atlantic

01/17/2018

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

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Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

09/11/2017

B

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.

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Dan Bayer

Next Best Picture

Apr 11

10/10

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.

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Sarah Vincent

Sarah G Vincent Views

01/04/2025

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.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

03/20/2022

4/4

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.

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Alejandro E

@Alex970 3h

For the first and only time, I suppose, the Coen brothers tackle the subject of religion with the utmost respect and their characteristic humour, in the story of a schoolteacher facing an existential crisis. It’s very close to being one of their finest works, so it’s well worth watching.

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Levi J

@Lev77 5d

Depressing, but wonderful dramedy film interwoven with a clever story involving Jewish themes, great screenplay and Michael Stuhlbarg's best performance yet! AND, I like the Jefferson Airplane soundtrack!

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Tom F.

@tforsthoefel Feb 24

Brilliant and darkly funny. A paen to a swelling and terrifying sense of the meaninglessness of life. In a way the Cohens are master theologians here.

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Tom F

@RT55173143 Jan 3

A top-5 Coen Bros joint, but just barely.

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Alex R

@Rossy70 Dec 14

I gave up on this one...which is rare for a movie and even more rare for the Coen Brothers. While it was plodding and not particularly entertsining, the main barrier was that it's all about being Jewish...the advice from rabbis, the get for divorce etc etc There's nowt wrong with that per se, but if you're not Jewish, it's like trying to understand the in jokes or minutae of a faith and culture. I was surprised it has such good rstings on here- for me, it's one if the worst movies I've watched this year.

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bob c

@RT46426964 Sep 22

In my second attempt I managed twenty minutes, only because it was Coen bros. Like Barton Fink, it’s one of their failures.

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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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