A Serious Man (2009)
81%RT Audience Score: 68%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 2 Oscars
17 wins & 80 nominations total
Blending dark humor with profoundly personal themes, the Coen brothers deliver what might be their most mature — if not their best — film to date
A Serious Man is like a rollercoaster ride through the life of a Jewish family, with all its ups and downs. The script is a mix of funny and anxiety-inducing moments, just like real life. Michael Stuhlbarg’s performance as the exasperated lead is excellent, but the lack of warmth and expansiveness makes it all seem too cruelly easy and shriveling. However, the Tale of the Goy’s Teeth is worth the exorbitant price of admission, and the last shot alone is so moving and complex that it sears itself into your brain like the twin ghost girls in The Shining. Overall, this movie is a must-watch for Coen fans who want to be left giddy with the sense that they have returned to form.
Production Company(ies)
Atticus Group Vision Quest Productions,
Distributor
Focus Features
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Czech Republic
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language, some sexuality/nudity and brief violence
Year of Release
2009
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:DTS Dolby Digital SDDS
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 45m
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Language(s):English, Yiddish, Hebrew
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Country of origin:United Kingdom
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 2, 2009 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 9, 2010
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Fred Melamed, Sari Lennick, Aaron Wolff, Jessica McManus, directed by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, written by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, Comedy/Drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Deborah Ross, Ed Koch, Candice Frederick, Brian Eggert, Eve Tushnet, Eileen Jones, Scott Nye, David Lamble, Felicia Feaster, MPAA rating R, physics professor, university, divorce, tenure, spiritual quest, Jewish, faith, uncertainty, dark humor, personal themes, Coen brothers, mature film
Worldwide gross: $31,430,334
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $43,440,202
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,401
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 4,737,208
US/Canada gross: $9,228,768
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $12,755,179
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,544
US/Canada opening weekend: $251,337
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $347,376
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,491
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $7,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $9,674,775
Production budget ranking: 1,690
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $5,209,866
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $28,555,560
ROI to date (est.): 192%
ROI ranking: 647
Richard Kind – Uncle Arthur
Fred Melamed – Sy Ableman
Sari Lennick – Judith Gopnik
Aaron Wolff – Danny Gopnik
Jessica McManus – Sarah Gopnik
Joel Coen – Director, Producer, Writer
Ethan Coen – Director, Producer, Writer
Director(s)
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Writer(s)
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Producer(s)
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Film Festivals
Cannes, Toronto
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 2 Oscars
17 wins & 80 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (227) | Top Critics (76) | Fresh (203) | Rotten (24)
Does have its delicious moments and Michael Stuhlbarg does give an excellent, exasperated, frazzled lead performance… But without any warmth or expansiveness it all seems too cruelly easy and shrivelling somehow.
August 30, 2018
Deborah Ross
The Spectator
TOP CRITIC
The entire script is a mishmash: funny, droll, and anxiety producing, just like daily life in many Jewish families.
January 17, 2018
Ed Koch
The Atlantic
TOP CRITIC
See this movie for a good laugh, and know that no matter what’s going on in your life, A Serious Man proves things can certainly get worse.
September 11, 2017 | Rating: B
Candice Frederick
Reel Talk Online
TOP CRITIC
November 16, 2011 | Rating: 5/5
Ben Kenigsberg
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
November 16, 2011 | Rating: 5/5
Joshua Rothkopf
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
November 16, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
Dave Calhoun
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
A tremendously complicated, intelligent, and intriguing motion picture, and arguably the Coen brothers’ best, A Serious Man is curious as a narrative but wholly momentous as a parable.
March 20, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
I loved the Tale of the Goy’s Teeth. This parable is worth the (exorbitant) price of admission.
September 13, 2021
Eve Tushnet
Patheos
The last shot alone is so moving, so incredible and complex in its impact, it sears itself into your brain like the twin ghost girls in The Shining, and you go home stunned.
March 22, 2021
Eileen Jones
The eXile
This has big “we just won the Oscar, pay us” energy, and leave it to the Coens to go even bleaker at their great moment of triumph.
December 8, 2020
Scott Nye
Battleship Pretension
In possibly the funniest and yet most commandingly philosophical film in the Coen Brothers’ distinct oeuvre, the mischief kicks off inside the head of a 13-year-old Jewish pothead.
June 18, 2020
David Lamble
Bay Area Reporter
A Serious Man may be the hardest of sells for the Coens, but it is the most worthy too: painfully comic, rueful to its core, and capable of leaving Coen fans giddy with the sense that they have returned to form.
January 23, 2020
Felicia Feaster
Charleston City Paper…
Plot
A physics professor’s life falls apart as his wife leaves him, his brother moves in, and his chances for tenure are sabotaged, leading him to seek advice from three different rabbis in A Serious Man.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny comments were found in the Fresh Kernels database for A Serious Man.
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