Remember when the Coen Brothers actually made comedies that were funny? After 2000’s O Brother Where Art Thou? they seemed to lose the touch they had with odd concept broad comedies, directing big misfires like “Intolerable Cruelty,” “The Ladykillers” and even last year’s forgettable Burn After Reading.
But things are looking up, as last night the trailer for the Coen’s latest hit the web and it looks fantastic. “A Serious Man” is a highly personal (though not autobiographical) film for the Coens, drawing on their experiences attending Hebrew school, and being the children of Jewish academics. Set in 1967, the plot revolves around Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) a middle aged physics professor who has just learned his wife is leaving him for another man, finds his tenure is being questioned, has his brother living on his couch, and whose children are getting into drugs and plastic surgery. In order to deal with these issues, Larry seeks advice from three rabbis and encounters difficulty along the way. The film was shot in Bloomington, Minnesota, and it marked the tenth time the Coens have worked with longtime cinematographer, Roger Deakins.
The cast is made of largely unknown or non-professional actors (thank God, we’ve had just about enough of George Clooney pretending he’s Cary Grant). An early report on the film also mentioned that they were filming a sequence entirely in Yiddish, focusing on Jewish wedding customs and superstitions, but there is no word yet on whether it has made the final cut.
With such a complex plot, the trailer itself is curiously enigmatic revealing only that the lead character’s wife is leaving him and that his teaching position is being threatened. It seems a little odd that Focus Features is selling a film with no star power this way, but with the lengthy scroll near the end of the Coen’s previous films, I guess they are still trying to snare anyone who may have seen or heard about any one of the movies by these guys at some point in their life despite the boldly non-traditional, repetitive trailer. That said, what is in the trailer looks like something more observationally funny like “Fargo,” rather than their broad comedies of late. The set design looks particularly gorgeous and big, big points to whoever decided to soundtrack the trailer to Larry’s head being smacked against a blackboard.
The film will play the Toronto International Film Festival and opens on October 2.
the tone reminds me of The Man Who Wasn't There. The head against the blackboard effect reminds me of the trailer for Delicatessen… though that was bed springs, wasn't it?
I wouldn't say Intolerable, Ladykillers and Burn weren't funny (OK, Ladykillers sucked) but they somehow don't seem Coen-esque to me.
Hope you're right about a return to form.
Gotta say I completely disagree. I think the trailer looks like more of the same. In fact, its tone reminded me so much of Burn After Reading (a joke I just didn't get, sorry) that I felt an acute sense of disappointment. Two facts give me hope: the subject matter is close to them, and the cast is a bunch of nobodies. But, still…
At the risk of being unpopular I'll say it: I think the age of the broad Coen comedy is dead. They should move into thrillers. Yeah, I said it. So what?
I might respect your making controversial statements at the risk of being unpopular if you weren't, you know, Anonymous.
Looks hilarious and I have to say…the whacking the head against the wall looks fairly slapsticky. That part reminded me more of a darker Hudsucker than Fargo.
Cruelty, Ladkillers, and Man Who Wasn't There (especially that one) are all extremely underrated.
And Burn After Reading was a top 10 pick last year. That film was so dark and so funny in such a specific way; really interesting and nasty little flick.
This trailer looks, as always for these guys, brilliant.
I love Hudsucker. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen a Coen film that I didn't love…
Agree with Actionman, many of those are underrated. Maybe not the best Coen brothers film, but compared to most comedies? Also many of these need a second screening. I found they all get better with extra viewings.
"He didn't look busy!" LOL.
I don't know what to think honestly. I totally agree with the original post in that Cruelty, Ladykillers, and even Burn were just too broad and slapsticky for my taste. O Brother on the other hand has a completely differnt tone and is more like Raising Arizona than the others imo. But yes, where is the next Fargo? I can tell you this isn't it. To the guy who mentioned them making thrillers, I love it cause the cover to fargo says "A thriller by Joel and Ethan Coen", and then in reality is a dark comedy. It's great. Personally, I want them to make that western they were talking about after No Country came out, that they called the most violent thing they've ever written.
Looks good but have to admit I'm kind of disappointed at the lack of Richard Kind.
Personally, I feel the Coen's garbage is better than 90% of the crap out there.
No one creates characters quite like them. Amazing.
@james. Exactly. We hold them to high standards and are occasionally deeply disappointed, but they're still such a cut above the rest.
No one has the sort of track record the Coens have. Even Ladykillers, which has so much stupid shit in it, has layers and layers of texture.