Coen Bros: A Serious Man part 8
Having received no comfort or perspective from "the first rabbi," Larry now seeks them from his divorce lawyer, whose character’s name is "Divorce Lawyer." He tries, half-heartedly, to repeat the "look at the parking lot" wisdom he’s received from Rabbi Scott, but is utterly unconvincing and folds at the slightest expression of doubt from his lawyer. What’s more, he proceeds to argue the case from Judith’s point-of-view, echoing the previous kitchen-table scene almost word for word, except backwards. Larry, given the opportunity to nail his wife’s ass (as the refrain from the Coens’ earlier divorce comedy Intolerable Cruelty puts it), instead sides with the aggressor, hog-tying the lawyer’s ability to act — he defeats himself.
Coen Bros: A Serious Man part 7
So Larry has been thrown out of his own house by his wife Judith. In a rare moment of bonding with Danny, he stops in to ask for his son’s stereo to use at the Jolly Roger (Larry is apparently a music lover). Danny, although he never says anything as sentimental as "Gee dad, tough break, getting thrown out of the house," nevertheless generously hands over his record player, a machine which has great significance to him — it’s how he listens to his Torah recordings for his bar mitzvah, and it’s also how he listens to rock-n-roll, now that his radio has been confiscated. This is, as far as I can tell, the only moment of tenderness between father and son in the movie. On the other hand, neither Danny nor Larry’s daughter Sarah seem to care one whit about their family falling to pieces — Larry’s departure carries less weight in the household than Arthur monopolizing the bathroom.
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.
Coen Bros: A Serious Man part 5
Larry is back at work. He’s got a message from Sy Abelman, the man whom his wife is leaving him for: "Let’s have a nice talk." Clive, his student who wants a new mid-term grade, has come in again. Larry holds up the envelope full of cash and indirectly accuses Clive of bribing him. Clive remains opaque, while at the same time seeming to know what’s in the envelope. "Actions have consequences," says Larry, but Clive isn’t entirely with him. "Yes, often" is the best he can do. This sends Larry into a frenzy: all actions, he says, have consequences — not just in physics, but morally. This is an important insight into Larry’s mind: to him, life makes sense only when actions have consequences. Things don’t just "happen" for no reason, an envelope full of money doesn’t just appear on his desk for no reason. Clive either did, or did not, try to bribe Larry. Based on the evidence, it seems clear that he did, but there’s nothing Larry can do to prove it, and Clive doesn’t give him an inch. As I’ve mentioned before, Larry is being tested here. If Clive did not leave the money on Larry’s desk, who did? Did Hashem? An envelope full of money seems well within the realm of the possible, given some of the events that eventually transpire in this movie. The notion that actions always have consequences will have a special resonance in the closing moments of the movie, especially regarding this envelope of money.
Coen Bros: A Serious Man part 4
We’ve met Larry Gopnik and his son Danny and are acquainted with their problems. What’s the story at Larry’s house?
Coen Bros: A Serious Man part 3
Enter Clive.
Clive is a student in Larry Gopnik’s physics class. Clive has failed a recent test. He wants Larry to raise his grade so that he can pass the class, otherwise he will lose his scholarship. At first blush, it seems that Clive’s suit is without merit — he failed the test, he deserves what he gets.
Coen Bros: A Serious Man part 2
After the Eastern-European parable that precedes the titles, A Serious Man shifts it focus to Danny Gopnik. The Coens literally put us inside Danny’s head, tunneling outward toward the tiny speaker stuck in his ear.
Coen Bros: A Serious Man part 1
I’ve received many comments from people who didn’t like the Coen Bros’ A Serious Man because it has “a passive protagonist.”
Well, interesting that folks should bring that up. A Serious Man challenges the protagonist question in a way I’ve never seen a movie do before, and it’s not just idle observation, it’s built into the structure of the entire movie. Because A Serious Man does not have a passive protagonist, it has a very active protagonist. A very active — and very powerful — protagonist.
Unless, of course, it does not. Which is exactly where the mystery lies.
Let me explain.
Favorite screenplays: Bambi part 4
Without ceremony or warning, Bambi must leave his mother lost in the snow and go off — somewhere — with his father. Wherever he goes off with his father, whatever he learns there, Disney withholds. The trauma of Bambi’s break with his mother lasts only a moment before it is spring.
Favorite screenplays: Bambi part 3
Summer turns to fall, and fall, for no stated reason, gets glossed over in a rush of colored leaves and turns to winter. Bambi is still tiny, still a child in this world where the rules constantly shift. Every time Bambi thinks he’s got the world figured out, no matter how cautious is his step forward, the world immediately slaps him down, changes the rules, makes him a baby again.