The Coens strike again with 'A Serious Man'

You'd think that director brothers Joel and Ethan Coen '79 would be in good spirits these days. After all, "No Country for Old Men" raked in multiple Oscars, and "Burn After Reading" was their first film to top the weekend box office. But the Coens' newest work, "A Serious Man," might also be their bleakest - all the more so because it happens to be a comedy.

In fact, its use of humor to tell a story of divine indifference and Old Testament wrath is precisely why the film often seems so brutal - imagine playing the cosmic struggles of ‘No Country' for laughs. Certainly, if anyone can pull off this sort of vicious humor, it's the Coens, who have in the past coaxed laughs out of everything from feet in wood-chippers to gunshots to the face. But don't think that the film is a mere farce: This undoubtedly serious story about a man struggling with the unanswerable questions of the universe makes "A Serious Man" not only one of their funniest films, but also one of their best.

"A Serious Man" focuses on Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a Jewish physics professor in Minnesota whose life is rapidly falling apart. His wife is leaving him for another man (a gloriously patronizing and slimy Fred Melamed), a student is blackmailing him, his son is a weed-smoking delinquent, and his brother (Richard Kind) is too busy draining his sebaceous cyst to look for his own apartment. Distraught, Larry turns to religion to find the ultimate answers. His rabbis only give him platitudes and elaborate parables (including one electrifying sequence involving Yiddish engraved on a gentile's teeth) - all of which do nothing but confuse him further. The laughs ramp up as Larry's life slides lower.

Ironically for a specialist in the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, which details the impossibility of knowing certain things, Larry's problem is his unwillingness to let go of his questions and "accept the mystery," as one character memorably puts it. (He could also use an assertiveness class, or three.) Of course, God as envisioned by the Coens doesn't exactly make things easy for him. The Coens aren't against religion, exactly. Sure, the mockery of Jewish customs and figures is scathingly hilarious, but it clearly comes from a place of affection, and a riotous scene at the end of the film between the community's wisest rabbi and Larry's son seems to suggest the enduring power of religion to connect with young, troubled souls. But for the Coens, God is an unsympathetic overlord, even if He does make sure that no wrongdoing goes unpunished and that everyone eventually gets his deserved comeuppance (which is key to understanding the abrupt, enigmatic and brilliant ending).

Of course, the Coens know a thing or two about unsympathetic overlords. These movie gods have always controlled the suffering of their characters right down to the minutest details. The Coens and longtime cinematographer Roger Deakins have fussed over every shot to ensure a wealth of beauty and meaning in each image. The final shot in particular has a staggering power that left me floored both times I saw the film.

The Coens' skill with rhythmic editing and carefully chosen music has also never been better displayed: Watch how they revive Jefferson Airplane's "Somebody to Love" after years of deadening overuse in the brilliant opening sequences. Most impressively, the Coens get an astounding array of performances from virtually unknown actors, with the no-name cast trouncing the superstar lineup of "Burn After Reading."

Undoubtedly having pulled ideas from personal experience (they were the sons of Jewish college professors in Minnesota), the Coens have once again proven that they are two of the most talented filmmakers working today. And yet, for all the power of their recent films, I can't help being saddened at the way their worldview has darkened. For all the turmoil in their respective movies, Coen characters like Marge Gunderson in "Fargo" and The Dude in "The Big Lebowski" were life-affirming creations, testaments to the best of the human spirit. I wouldn't change a frame of "A Serious Man" or "No Country for Old Men," but I can't fully accept the despairing visions they put forth. I don't want the Coens to dilute the power of their filmmaking, but I also hope that their future films carve out room for a sliver of faith in the human spirit.

5 PAWS