'A Serious Man' movie review by Kenneth Turan

[blackman2462]

i hated the movie, just because i felt bad for the main character. could you imagine being in his situation? cheating wife? fuck up kids? lawsuits? during every scene i wanted him to buy a gun and slaughter everyone

[CreedBalboa]

I honestly don't know what people are talking about when they say "sit through". . . I honestly found this movie engaging from beginning to end, you never know where the Coen Brothers are going to take the movie.

[Mpaige427]

@Grendo147 actually there are multiple metaphors being portrayed throughout the film. One is the book of Job; the other is the concept of a quote in the movie that stated how Jews gain strength and faith from all of the stories that they have passed down through generations, but in actuality the messages in the stories, such as the zeitgeist are nothing more than amazingly good catch-alls for a broad array of problems and that there are no ways to explain truly unique situations like Clive's.

[dacloo]

This is not a review asshole!

[graciayani]

i just gave the thumb up for the movie not the review

[cherybomber]

Cant believe this movie gets hate because people don't get it. What is hard to get about it ? It's about a man trying to find the answers to the direction his life has gone in, yet there are no answers. Simple.

[SayNoob]

a piece of art.

[brucerby]

The man who did this review should seriously consider another occupation...maybe shoe repair or something?

[knighcs66]

what a shit review

[NakedSuit]

When I grew up in high school I had Jewish friends. Somethings in their family life never made any sense at all, me being a Gentile and all. This movie is genius because it captured everything which my friends were totally silent on. Very moving and can see why the spirit moves Israel in the ways I see outcomes.

[ejgiv]

Great film. Terrible review!

[3stringovation]

Your review said nothing at all. Do you actually get paid for this?

[varettah]

this is the best movie in many years now!!

[meekah1028]

I'm still waiting for the review

[varettah]

@meekah1028 the review is coming in the next delivery, keep in touch with the channel, it will come :)...

[thisnickisnotused]

As for me it was an excellent movie, it really stays with you and gives you a lot of "food" for brain. Maybe the main problem is that it's difficult to see the storyline in it, but it's a remarkable achievement.

Смотреть обязательно!

[jcrmitchell]

I have mixed feelings about this film, but let's talk about this review! It's terrible! A series of clips, many of them the same and some guy making obvious comments on his camera in his basement. LA Times? Do better.

[apepiz9]

the movie is not boring!!!!!!! is actually very good, I think this the the best film of the Coen Brothers.... but please can someone explain me the ending because I cant understand it

please, I need help

[stormscion]

@apepiz9 it is best movie of coen brothers i agree

[Badfellah]

With that being said, you get an insight just through this preview. I had no insight to what I was about to watch. But I was ready for black comedy and open to it being a drama.

There is no doubt that many younger people will not like this film. When a film is labelled "comedy", many people assume it is obvious comedy. This film requires some life-wisdom. I never discriminate on age, as I always have been mature in the mind. But you need to know life and maturity to rate this film.

[Badfellah]

This film is indeed not for the average film-goer. What I mean by that, is that it demands something from the viewer. Things are more subtle, the film also refers to philosophy that many people might miss out on.

Prepare yourself for a slow film. But also prepare yourself for a black comedy. Again, subtle is a key word. And yes, the last scene indeed has a point. The prologue also! If you think back at the scenes after you saw the film, you should be able to understand them.

[EdiblePlanets]

javier: you are probably right about that

[samparkervideo]

To everyone who says because of the ending the film has no point, or that it's hard to watch because it's slow moving. Shut up. It does have a point, and just because you can't sit through it does not make it bad. However, this film is definitely more for those people who appreciate film as an art form, rather than simply a level of entertainment.

[TheDailyMonk]

What exactly is the point of the ending? Please enlighten me because I have no idea.

[samparkervideo]

Well it's purely out of one's own judgment, but to me I felt it meant that even when things seem to be going well, they can always turn right back around. It is meant to be an end all be all to the bad things that have been happening to the people of this family. It's not supposed to be a "make you feel good" kind of ending. Happy endings are what make movies terrible now days, not to say that they shouldn't have happy endings, but directors simply try far too hard to make it happy.

[monsterbot9]

@samparkervideo totally agree man!!!

people need to stop talking sh*t about great movies that aren't exactly "entertaining".

[ilovepanslabyrinth]

@samparkervideo

I agree

My film of the decade

[ilovepanslabyrinth]

@samparkervideo

I loved the ending to this and No Country for old men. Both are an absolute euphoria for me personally, and I'm glad there are others who agree. A Serious Man is about Uncertainty being constantly in front of us, therefore it ends perfectly. And in No Country everything comes full circle. A.S.M is no doubt the most profound film i've seen and is my favourite of the decade

[traviszildjianbarker]

@samparkervideo Marry me?

[hpchau1638]

Sorry to say this but this movie is very Borring... like i can barely sit through it.. and at the end i was Like WTF is this about .. bc this movie has no plot i think.. i mean if your a Jews then you might find this movie interesting... other than that, all youre watching is anything bad tat can happen to this guy will happen to himm... :[ sorry..

but i still love the COen brothers though :]

[arikcarlo]

@hpchau1638 .. On The Charlie Rose show, Ethan Coen referred to the movie as their " Jew movie". What does that say about the Coen Brothers and their self-respect as Jews? A number of their films carry the typical Jewish stereotypes, and that bespeaks of a self-hating shallowness, in spite of the fireworks nature of their films. With respect to the typical stereotypes about Jews in their films, who needs White Supremacists when Jews like the Coens can do their work for them!

[Snejanna1]

i think film is nice,gonna see it.I like all works of cohen brothers,cohen brothers have their uninique style ;independent movies are always better then mainstream

[maikeru01]

your video says nothing. grow a backbone, form an opinion. jeez. this video was less informative about how good the movie is than if you had just shown the trailer. 1 star.

[odiousone]

Not really much of a review now was it?

[TheArmy19D]

i think he missed the point of the movie also.

[ToonCrafter]

Their last film? No Country? Wasn't it Burn After Reading?

[gambarian]

@ToonCrafter

yea, kinda odd, forgetting the last one...

[EdiblePlanets]

I think he erased "Burn After Reading" from his memory b/c it was so bad.

[65g4]

it was he must have forgotten about it

[Fritz451]

@ToonCrafter

I like to think it was intentional (though it probably wasn't) because Burn After Reading was so bad.

[marcgelk]

just came back from that movie.. and as much as the Big Lebovksy is my all time favorite and the dude my personal hero this movie is real boring, nonsensical, only rarely funny. its for all of you who still look for answers but know they'll never get any.. well you won't in the movie either.. feels like the Cohn's got a take on woody allens' neuroticism.. just a little fresher. A pity, because many elements could have made it interesting..

[arouska]

I thought it was brilliant. Is there any better basis for a dark comedy than the Book of Job?

[ZenBarracuda]

@arouska Sanity is a great basis for a dark comedy, in answer to your rhetorical question.

[vagabond78666]

had promise...but left me feeling a bit ripped off

[EdiblePlanets]

I will not see this movie. It seems like sheer torture. Newsflash: Life Sucks. Big deal. Also, it is obviously intended for a jewish audience.

[kruskev]

you are wrong in every way, now just go watch the movie.

[EdiblePlanets]

I'll eventually see the movie, but I won't see it in a theater. No need to fund this movie at $10/ticket. I'll wait for DVD and even then I'll try to borrow it for free.

[rodekill27]

that's a shame because im christian and i thought it was brilliant

[EdiblePlanets]

You identify yourself as christian, which means what: 1. you are a serious christian, or 2. you are an american who is not a member of any of the minority religions (jewish, muslem)? I wonder why people (particularly Jews) have such a strong desire to be identified with a particular group. Why surround your life with all these silly trappings and burdens? Why can't people just be individuals?

[DazedNConfused01]

Yes let's all say it together: 'We are all individuals'

[EdiblePlanets]

Dazed: Thanks. I am sick of identity-groups, Jews included. Rather just giving me a "thumbs down" why don't one you identity-types defend your position?

[apgporno]

this guy is a terrible reviewer!

1)burn after reading was their last film

2)he gave no info on the film or if it was gud or not

3)how can something be unusual but quintessentially coen brothers?

[kruskev]

burn after reading should be buried.

[SlayCharge]

true

[marshfinch]

BURN AFTER READING wasn't exactly a high watermark but it's pathetic Turan doesn't even remember it. It came out 13 months ago.

[zutzut22]

Ok you are right: I should laugh at young kids taking drugs and useless rabbis...The movie shows only one racist Irish guy.... Nobody in the movie is likable anyway...Bunch of losers...

[JGuildersleeve]

Furthermore, he says that this is an unusual film even for the Coen Brothers and then ends by saying it is "quintessentially Coen Brothers" - suggesting typical Coen Brothers fare. In the little that Turan says he gives us flawed biographical information and then proceeds to contradict himself in the space of less than three minutes. Bravo!

[JGuildersleeve]

This is supposedly a major reviewer and he doesn't know what the Coen Brothers' last movie was.

[zutzut22]

This movie shows how life is not worth living...Only miseries everywhere...God is absent, life meaningless, only escape getting high... People found it funny?

[JGuildersleeve]

How does the movie say that life is not worth living?  The movie does demonstrate that we do not have the capacity or resources to understand the full meaning of life - we can't ever really distinguish between coincidence and fate. I don't quite understand why the conclusion to that is to not live.

[mwhalen0787]

It's a black comedy.. and the existential nature of life is the blackest comedy there is.

[zutzut22]

We know God does not exist.

Very depressing movie.

Not funny unless you laugh at yourself.

Plenty of stereotypes.

[THEHALOPROVIDER]

??? This Movie shows exactly how the jewish community was treated in that era, And how the heck is it not funny unless you laugh at yourself? this movie was hilarious... i don't think you watched it

[zutzut22]

Useless, depressing movie.

We know God does not exist.

[OceanAndSilence]

we know jack shit, and so do you.

[Manhattman]

Love love love this film!

[doctor09210]

i liked this

[dontcare422]

How is this a review? He just showed some scenes and said about 4 sentences. Weak!

[thepeloncool]

First one to post a comment : D and the third view