What an amazing film this was. In the middle of this shitstorm of mediocrity full of bland superhero movies, bad toy/video game adaptations, sequels, franchise re-boots, unapologetically bening cutesy indie flicks, A Serious Man is truly a breath of fresh air.
Every single minute of this film is unpredictable, honest, genuinely funny, genuinely sad and original, a word that couldn't be used to describe an American film for a long, long time.
On top of all this, A Serious Man is an agnostic's wet dream (Say it loud! I'm agnostic and I'm proud!)
As a loose study of The Book of Job, the film has absolutely no pretense towards explaining exactly why such horrible things happen to Larry Gopnik, an ordinary man who tries so hard to be a serious man, someone who is strong against any adversity. Someone who has a firm grip on life. But try as he might, no answers come in any form.
The film doesn't go out of its way to prove that everything happens for absolutely no reason, that everything is random, and that we truly are alone in this universe, nor does it even attempt to give any hints towards the existence of a God that controls everything, a God that has a grand plan for all of us, a God who works in mysterious ways.
How you react to the film defines your worldview. After the brilliant prologue spoken entirely in Yiddish, either you believe the old man who visited the couple is indeed an evil spirit, and the woman saved her family. Or you believe she's a disturbed, delusional person who just did a horrible thing to a sweet, innocent old man.
Even though A Serious Man is one of the best reviewed films of the year, it does receive a lot of contempt from a specific group: People of faith. I'm talking about people who have a fundemental belief in God and his word. People who wholeheartedly believe in the monotheistic faith of their choice or upbringing and, most importantly, in a God who is in control of everything, who has a plan for us all, blah, blah.
There are lots of articles out there branding the film as God-less, since God's mighty hand does not interfere with anything that happens in the film and conveniently solves everything (Like He does in real life, right?). Some of these articles go as far as calling the almost entirely Jewish-made and Jewish-acted film Anti-Semitic.
They think since the three Rabbis depicted in the film are not superheroes who solve all of Larry's very serious problems with a wave of their awesome Rabbinic wands (Does that not sound right or do I just have a filthy mind?), they are portrayed as unrealistic and cartoonish.
So, as a public service for our friends with blind faith, I've come up with five ways you can enjoy A Serious Man:
1- Instead of watching the film as a thought-provoking study on life and God, watch it as a how-to guide on killing dybbuks.
2- Convince yourself that the phone call Larry recieves at the end is God's way of punishing him for committing a sin in order to help his "wicked" brother.
3- Try to remember that the Rabbis depicted in the film are not actually buffoons. They are men who genuinely try their best to explain things using personal experience and scripture. The 5-year-old Rabbi Scott's speech about the parking lot actually makes a lot of sense, if you think about it. Rabbi Nachtner's teeth story was mesmerizing to say the least. And what the older-than-time Rabbi Marshak finally says after we desperately wait for him to impart some of his wisdom might be the coolest thing I've heard in a long time.
4- Adulterers are always punished by God, even if they did not do the deed but obviously had impure thoughts.
5- There's a scene where an attractive woman sunbathes in the nude. Just saying. God will forgive you.
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