Coen Brothes serious dudes!
Because of scheduling problems, I missed a couple of screenings of "A Serious Man" (the latest dark comedy conjured up by the ever-ambitious Coen Brothers).
Fortunately, the Regency booked the much-hailed film into the theatre recently, and I was able to catch it for a discounted price of $7.50 (so there was moolah left over for a hotdog and soda).
For good reason, the art-house film has not only been garnering rave reviews, but managed to snap up a couple of Oscar nominations to boot.
*Best Feature Film
*Best Original Screenplay
Once the opening credits rolled, and the camera panned in on the opening scenes, I was taken by surprise.
The neighourhood the main characters resided in was remarkably similar to Scarborough (where I was raised as a kid - though female impersonator Craig Russel - might refer to the middle-class suburb as "Scarberia" in view of his unpleasant memories there as a child).
As the story unfolded, I guffawed loudly over another experience the teenage son (Aaron Wolff) was suffering through.
Each day, as he trundled home from school, he was forced to dash by the house of the neighborhood bully to escape a poke or two.
On each scary occasion, the scrawny freckled-faced kid (the kind that bullies love to pick on) just barely made it to his own yard untouched.
Yup!
I was forced to contend with "Norris", who usually punched me in the stomach, as I headed home.
Finally, one day - I got so annoyed - that I struck back in a sort-of knee-jerk reaction.
Imagine that!
Within minutes, he was sporting a shiner, and I became the class hero overnight.
My teacher nick-named me one of "Golden Boys" on the heels of that auspicious occasion.
Unfortunately, the young lad in "A Serious Man" doesn't strike back.
But, later in a prophetic noment near the end of the film, he fathomsthat the oversized moron will not be around for the long haul if the portents swirling all around are correct.
A sign from Jehovah, perhaps?
For the most part, the story focuses on the father of a Jewish household ( portrayed with minute attention to detail by Tony Award nominee Michael Stuhlbarg).
He's a teacher, with two children, who tries to walk the straight and narrow.
In spite of his good nature and kind-hearted intentions, the sky starts to fall down on his head.
Out-of-blue, for example, his wife (Sari Lennick) informs him she is involved with an old family friend (a real smuck, by the way) and demands a divorce.
Oy, veh!
If that wasn't troubling enough, when the teach marks an Asian student's paper with a deserving low grade, the schemer tries to effect a little wicked blackmail to extort a higher grade.
Dark humor, of the crazed kind that only the Coen brothers are capable of effectively delivering up, drives along the drama-comedy with side-splitting laughs, moments of profound truth from on high that resonate, and just plain silliness that hits the funny bone just right.
"A Serious Man" is a bit cliche at times, though.
But, would it be possible to tackle the trials and tribulations of a Jewish family, without going there?
A cast of zany off-beat characters - each unique in his or her own way - delight throughout.
Two of my favorite characters are the likeable thirteen-year old (with remarkably good taste in rock bands such as the Jefferson Airplane) preparing with earnest for his barmitzvah and his older bitchy sister who taunts him endlessly (Jessica McManus).
Yeah, she's a real piece of "Jewish American Princess" work.
A handful of scenes focusing on Dad literally steal the show because of his hang-dog demeanor and the actor's finely honed comedic (dead-pan) skills.
In one hilarious plot twist, at the insistence of his spoiled son, he goes up on the roof to adjust the bunnie ears on the antenna when he spies his married neighbour sunbathing in the buff with all her attributes hanging out.
In a flash, he scurries off to introduce himself, and ends up in like Flynn.
When the bored housewife offers him a toke on a joint, the wicked Coen humor blossoms in all its debauched glory.
At one point the beleaugered Dad is urged by loved ones - the wife who is divorcing him, the lover who is attempting to kick him out of his own home, and the patronizing principal at his school - to seek some meaningful guidance from the Rabbi.
Now the hilarity kicks into high gear.
The twisted onscreen tale about the "goy and the teeth" will put you in stitches.
In a way, this film is not unlike a Buddhist Koan, in many respects.
Though to crack, but earth shattering, when the message rings out crystal clear.
The timing of the actors is impeccable, the characterizations are well-developed, and the acting is seamless and believable.
On occasion, "A Serious Man", is a startlingly realistic film designed to take filmgoers by surprise.
When the filmmakers cut to a nightmare incident on a beach, for example, it turns out to be just that!
The skilled Coens had us all going there for a moment - so intense so believable - was the scenario.
Like Fargo (still my favorite) "A Serious Man" is right up there on the ricter scale still shaking people up.
There are also a handful of thought-provoking ideas and concepts about the almighty (and his intent) that resonate with filmgoers.
In the case of this Oscar contender an old truism applies:
Life is a bitch, and then you die.
