Critic's Grade: B+

The Coen Brothers are out of their minds. A Serious Man is darker than dark, blacker than black, and convoluted to the point of incoherency. It's a wild and crazy ride that will leave you shaking your head.

Everything I just said in the paragraph above is a compliment. A compliment to the Coen's inner genius and the outer realm it lives in. For three straight years, they have given us fantastic moviemaking. No Country for Old Men is one of their finest films, Burn After Reading was heaven's of fun, and now A Serious Man, their most personal film to date. It's a glimpse in the life of two of Hollywood's strongest filmmakers. Starring Michael Stuhlbarg as Larry Gopnik in a star making performance, A Serious Man could be described as the Jewish American Beauty. It is both a social commentary and autobiography about a teacher whose life starts spiraling out of control. His wants a divorce, his brother is living off him, his tenure is in jeopardy, and his kids aren't exactly ideal students. I've always tried to be a serious man, says Larry Gopnik. Try to ponder this statement after viewing the film's ending, one that literally shakes its characters into a physical and metaphorical state of gothic phantasm. You, the viewer of this brilliantly offbeat film, will also be shaken.

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