Coen Bros: A Serious Man part 6
Enter Arlen Finkle.
Arlen Finkle is a co-worker of Larry’s and head of the college tenure committee. What does Arlen want? Arlen wants to assure Larry that, despite the fact that there have been several letters sent to the tenure committee defaming Larry, his tenure is in no way hanging in the balance and he should by no means worry about anything. Arlen, like Sy Abelman, is an indelible character, acted to perfection in an incredible brief performance by an actor I’ve never heard of before. The grain and detail brought to his overwhelmingly ineffective reassurances to Larry is breathtaking.