A Serious Man (2009)

God bless the Coen Brothers. I have seen and loved almost all of their movies. Yet somehow, this one felt so real. Whether it's The Big Lebowski, Fargo or No Country For Old Men, while all great movies, they all seemed just a bit out of touch with reality. This did not and it was very good.

Set in the 1960s, Michael Stuhlbarg plays Larry Gopnik, a man whose life is just continually crumbling around him. His wife has taken up comfort with another man and is hounding Larry for a divorce. His teaching job may be going nowhere because the tenure board seems to be taking a long time on their decision about him. All he can ask of people and himself is "Why?" His neighbors seem to hate him, his kids won't listen to him and his no good brother won't leave their couch. Larry can't seem to get his head around it all. Then, things start turning around, but not in the way he wanted them to.

Stuhlbarg was great in this role. He really made me feel for his character and want him to succeed in all his endeavors. This was a slow moving comedy but it was one I found myself laughing at a lot. Anytime Larry tried to seek advice from a rabbi had me cracking up. While this was not the best Coen movie like some had suggested, it's on the top half of their success ladder.