After two largely awful attempts at comedy (Intolerable Cruelty, The Ladykillers), the Coen Brothers blew away the world of cinema with a potent adaptation of the novel No Country for Old Men, a philosophical glance at the role of violence in our life. They followed that up with a flawed but entertaining madcap comedy, Burn After Reading, and seem to be continuing in mood with their upcoming A Serious Man.
The trailer above is a well-crafted 90 seconds of footage that reveals little about the plot. Most probably because there is not much of a plot to this comedic drama. The story follows Larry Gopnik, an academic living and working in 1960s Minneapolis. After his wife wants to leave him it seems poor Larry is trying to find meaning and understanding in hiw life, which is falling apart around him due to the assistance of an utterly disfunctional family.
It’s interesting to see the Coen brothers make a film that seems particularly unambitious. Indeed, you’d almost risk believing that it’s the most personal film the directing duo have made, dealing with their childhood in Minneapolis and their academic parents. Is this the Coen brothers making a Woody Allen film? It’s hard to tell from the trailer, but the amusing attempt to construct Larry’s problems (being bashed against a wall, the hacking coughs of his apparently uncaring rabbi) into a soundtrack of anxiety works well to transform the concept of a humdrum life into a funny tale.
A Serious Man is released in the US in October.
Kenna McHugh said
July 30 2009 @ 1:29 pm
Branching out? The rythmic pounding of his head against the wall leads to a final “The Rabbi is busy” shows the many layers of life’s troubles and truly finding real help. It’s clever.
eoin ofaolain said
July 30 2009 @ 2:59 pm
I agree, but the subject matter is still something the Coens haven’t really done before, hence they seem to be branching out
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Steve Anderson said
July 30 2009 @ 10:54 pm
Lies and perfidy, says I. The Ladykillers was funny stuff.
Kenna McHugh said
July 31 2009 @ 10:29 am
Yes, the are branching out…it will be interesting to see the movie.
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