---
title: "A Serious Man"
year: 2009
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/a-serious-man"
fi1m_id: "a-serious-man"
imdb_id: "tt1019452"
tmdb_id: 12573
wikidata_id: "Q300555"
fi1m_score: 84
critics_score: 78
critics_reviews: 19
published: "2026-09-15"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:11.452286+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# A Serious Man (2009)

Directed by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen · 1h 46m · MPA R · Comedy, Drama

## Identity

A Serious Man

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/a-serious-man
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** a-serious-man
- **IMDb ID:** tt1019452
- **TMDB ID:** 12573
- **Wikidata ID:** Q300555
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1019452/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/12573, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q300555

**Fi1m score: 84** · Critics 78 from 19 reviews

*In a sentence:* A physics professor’s life falls apart while everyone else congratulates themselves on being helpful

> The Coens make a funny, disquieting comedy about a man who keeps asking reasonable questions. Michael Stuhlbarg gives the suffering weight, although the broader caricatures sometimes make the cruelty too easy.

## Synopsis

Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) is a physics professor in a Jewish community in suburban Minnesota during the 1960s. As difficulties accumulate at home and at work, he tries to discover what he has done wrong and what he is supposed to do next. A student attempts to bribe him, while a search for guidance takes him to a rabbi. Around Larry are Judith Gopnik (Sari Lennick), Uncle Arthur (Richard Kind) and Sy Ableman (Fred Melamed). Joel Coen and Ethan Coen write and direct a story about family troubles, faith and a man accustomed to questions having answers.

## Review

*A Serious Man* is a sharply funny, troubling film, and we recommend it with one reservation: the Coens occasionally make Larry Gopnik’s tormentors too easy to laugh at. Joel Coen and Ethan Coen write and direct a comedy about a physics professor who cannot get a satisfactory explanation for what is happening to him. In this Jewish Minnesota suburb, family, work and religion all provide people who are ready to talk. Help is harder to come by. Michael Stuhlbarg plays Larry, and keeps us interested in each fresh attempt to make himself understood.

The temptation with this sort of story is to keep increasing the misfortunes until the man at the centre exists simply to suffer them. The Coens do something more uncomfortable: they let us understand why Larry thinks an explanation should exist. His dealings with a student who tries to bribe him put that expectation under particular strain. We laughed at the attempted bribe, then felt anxious for Larry. Stuhlbarg makes having to respond look like another unfair demand.

Fred Melamed’s Sy Ableman is so pleased with his own manner that we begin to dread his contributions. His delivery makes conversation feel like something Larry must endure without being allowed to object. Melamed takes his time, which gives Stuhlbarg plenty of opportunity to register the strain of listening. Larry’s hopefulness matters here, because a permanently defeated man would make these exchanges predictable. Stuhlbarg keeps trying to understand the people around him, and makes that effort look tiring without asking for our automatic sympathy.

Roger Deakins gives the suburban setting a bleakness that makes Larry’s anxiety seem entirely reasonable. These are places where he ought to feel secure, and the photography offers little reassurance. Jess Gonchor’s production design makes the period setting feel inhabited, with homes and workplaces belonging to a community whose habits are firmly established. That sense of ordinary life carrying on is oppressive: Larry’s difficulties have not made the familiar surroundings any more accommodating.

Carter Burwell’s score contributes to the discomfort, giving Larry’s troubles a gravity that the jokes could otherwise take away. The Coens’ editing is just as important, judging how long Larry can be left to absorb what someone has said before embarrassment becomes wearisome. At 106 minutes, the film has room for hesitation without becoming slack. Its rhythm makes us share Larry’s frustration while still wanting to hear what the next supposed source of wisdom might offer, even when experience should have discouraged us.

The weakness comes when the supporting figures are drawn so broadly that Larry has too little to push against. The Coens sometimes seem satisfied with a funny manner or an absurd response, and those jokes can make the surrounding community feel conveniently obtuse. In a film so interested in difficult questions, we want more of the people answering them to present a serious challenge. This limits its sympathy, particularly when religious counsel becomes another source of exasperation and the person offering it is reduced to a comic obstacle.

As a black comedy, it is unusually willing to let suffering remain upsetting after we have laughed. Larry is recognisable because he keeps expecting the next conversation to improve matters, and Stuhlbarg makes that expectation painful to watch. There is plenty to argue about afterwards, particularly how much patience Larry deserves and how much his advisers owe him. Watch it with someone who does not need the discussion settled before bed.

*Fi1m score 84, published 15 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics take to A Serious Man as the Coens’ most personal film, a dark comedy about a suburban physics professor whose life falls apart in 1967 Minnesota, and several rank it among their best. The praise gathers around Michael Stuhlbarg’s bewildered lead, the cast of unfamiliar faces around him, and a script with a precise ear for the period and its people. Many reviews note that the film asks serious questions about faith and suffering without answering them, and a few single out Roger Deakins’s photography and Carter Burwell’s score.

The reservations are about warmth. Sight and Sound and Variety worry that the Jewish caricatures tip into condescension, and Total Film finds the film reaching for gags where it might have reached for feeling. Two reviews reject it outright: The New Yorker finds it a miserable sit despite the craft, and The Independent calls it mirthless and alienating. The spread is wide but lopsided: sixteen positive against two who could not stand it.

## Straight answers

**Is A Serious Man worth watching?**

*A Serious Man* is worth watching for anyone who likes comedy that stays troubling after the laughter, and we scored it 84. Michael Stuhlbarg makes Larry Gopnik's suffering count as one reasonable question after another goes unanswered. Our one reservation is that the Coens draw some of his tormentors so broadly that the cruelty comes too easily.

**How long is A Serious Man, and what is it rated?**

*A Serious Man* runs 1h 46m and is rated R by the MPA in the US. It is a comedy and drama film.

**Where can I watch A Serious Man in the US?**

*A Serious Man* is streaming on Amazon Prime Video in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is A Serious Man, and is it suitable for children?**

*A Serious Man* is a 15 certificate in the UK and rated R in the US, and it is not for children. There is little violence and nothing frightening in the horror sense; the discomfort comes from watching a decent man humiliated by family, colleagues and advisers. Older teenagers with patience for slow, uneasy comedy will manage it, but it is written for adults.

**How does A Serious Man compare to A Separation?**

*A Serious Man* is a black comedy and [*A Separation*](https://film.one/film/a-separation) is a drama, but both watch a household come apart while every reasonable explanation makes the choices harder. The Coens let us laugh at Larry's tormentors, sometimes too easily; Asghar Farhadi is scrupulously fair to everyone, including the children. Farhadi's film is the more upsetting and the more even-handed, while the Coens' is funnier and leaves more to argue about afterwards.

**What should I watch after A Serious Man?**

After *A Serious Man*, try [*A Separation*](https://film.one/film/a-separation) (2011, Fi1m 93): Another household crisis where each reasonable explanation makes the moral choices harder. Then [*After Hours*](https://film.one/film/after-hours) (1985, Fi1m 80): An ordinary man’s mounting difficulties, handled with a nastier comic momentum; and [*Force Majeure*](https://film.one/film/force-majeure) (2014, Fi1m 84): Family discomfort and precise comic timing, with nobody allowed an easy excuse.

### Reviews we read (24)

- **Little White Lies**, James King (4/5/5): The Coens deliver a cheeky, personal dark comedy about frustration and life's haphazardness. It balances nihilism with belly laughs and humane performances in a lean, Jewish-American tale. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/a-serious-man)
- **Time Out**, Ben Walters (5/5): A sincere, precisely realised exploration of unjust suffering and faith in a Jewish Minnesota suburb. Stuhlbarg's bewildered lead anchors a film that embraces life's unfairness without nihilism. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/a-serious-man-1)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (90/100, inferred): The critic calls it a sublime, intelligent serio-comedy that deftly balances bright comedy and bitter darkness. He singles out the film's woozy, hallucinatory tone and the way it evokes an epiphany for the protagonist amid personal chaos. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/nov/19/a-serious-man-coen-brothers)
- **Slant Magazine**, Fernando F. Croce (3.5/4): The Coens deliver their bleakest comedy, blending condescension and compassion as they torment their everyman protagonist with absurd misfortunes while burrowing into his pain. The film is lauded for its human dimension, personal resonance, and grave investigation of mystery and meaning. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/a-serious-man/)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Kenneth Turan (85/100, inferred): The Coens seize post-Oscar freedom for their most personal, intensely Jewish film, a pitch-perfect comedy of despair about a suburban professor’s Job-like woes. Turan praises its universal resonance, filmmaking skill, and ability to be both site-specific and broadly relatable. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-oct-02-et-serious-man2-story.html)
- **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (85/100, inferred): The Coen brothers deliver a labor of love reimagining the Book of Job in a 1960s Minneapolis suburb, centering on a hapless physics professor whose life unravels through relentless absurd misfortunes. Ebert praises the rich, wince-inducing comedy, the perfectly cast unfamiliar actors, and Michael Stuhlbarg’s hopeful everyman performance. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/a-serious-man-2009)
- **Screen Daily** (85/100, inferred): The Coens produce a vigorously felt dark comedy that ranks with their finest, mining their ethnic roots with emotional specificity. Stuhlbarg's anxious performance and witty script highlight the film's mordant tone and production values. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/a-serious-man-/5005569.article)
- **The Times**, Wendy Ide (85/100, inferred): The critic describes it as a darkly tragi-comic fable of a suburban Job and one of the Coens' most personal and best films. She singles out the nimble handling of faith, family, academia and Judaism in the late-1960s Midwest setting. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/article/a-serious-man-n0dfjsh9bdr)
- **The New York Times**, A.O. Scott (80/100, inferred): The Coens craft a mordant, personal comedy of Jewish suburban angst that questions divine intent and the meaning of suffering through a Job-like professor’s trials. Scott highlights its philosophical depth, precise filmmaking, and blend of the absurd with the universal. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/02/movies/02serious.html)
- **Evening Standard** (70/100, inferred): The film is a very funny, bitterly resentful comedy about midlife angst and the search for clarity amid absurd crises, mixing parody with realism in its portrayal of rabbis, family and society. It raises serious questions about negotiating life's pitfalls without providing easy answers. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/a-serious-man-makes-comedy-out-of-a-crisis-7417591.html)
- **Total Film** (70/100, inferred): The Coens' most personal and Jewish film to date is a starless black comedy full of mystery, intrigue and rich language that rewards fans, with exemplary handling of the protagonist's descent and a lovable lead. It frustrates by opting for quick gags over deeper emotional engagement in its personal material. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/a-serious-man-review/)
- **Variety**, Todd McCarthy (70/100, inferred): This small, personal Coen project about Jewish life in 1967 suburban Minnesota puts its characters through the wringer in peculiarly funny ways. McCarthy notes the tart, mordant comedy, precise craft, and quasi-autobiographical tone, while observing it may discomfort some with its Jewish caricature elements. [Read](https://variety.com/2009/film/markets-festivals/a-serious-man-2-1200477140/)
- **Sight and Sound**, Michael Atkinson (60/100, inferred): The film mixes empathetic realism with the Coens' signature mockery in a suburban 1960s Jewish setting. It offers a personal, absurdist take on unjust suffering but risks condescension through broad caricatures. [Read](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/5232)
- **The Independent** (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the Coens' touted 'personal' film mirthless and alienating despite verbal quirks, with a narrow emotional range and refusal to seek meaning. Larry's Job-like misfortunes highlight the directors' indifferent, futile worldview rather than any affection for the era or faith. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/a-serious-man-15-1823725.html)
- **The New Yorker**, David Denby (30/100, inferred): The Coens’ bleak, black comedy about a put-upon Jewish professor in 1960s Minnesota is hell to sit through despite its craft. Denby singles out the distant, shriveling humor and unappealing characters for complaint while noting the film’s fascinating technique. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/10/05/gods-and-victims)
- **Empire**, Dan Jolin: A suburban dysfunctional-family drama-cum-metaphysical mystery about rationalism versus faith, it stands out as the Coens' most human and relatable film thanks to strong non-star casting and Michael Stuhlbarg's grounded lead performance. Admirably low-key, deeply compelling and their warmest movie since Fargo. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/serious-man-review/)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Kirk Honeycutt: The Coens have made a serious yet funny film about God, suffering, and meaning in a 1960s Midwestern Jewish community, centering on a physics professor enduring endless misfortunes. The critic praises the period details and Roger Deakins' spiritually bleak cinematography but notes it may limit commercial appeal. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/man-film-review-2-93497/)
- **Den of Geek**, Luke Savage (5/5): The Coen Brothers' film is one of the best of the year, a dark, funny and mesmeric work that balances bleakness with comedy in masterful fashion. It stands out for its ensemble performances, particularly Michael Stuhlbarg as the beleaguered Larry and Fred Melamed as the overbearing Sy Ableman, along with its precise ear for suburban dialogue and sense of dread. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/a-serious-man-review-4/)
- **Collider**, Matt Goldberg (A): The Coens deliver their most difficult film since Barton Fink, a rich and thoughtful examination of uncertainty, Judaism in modernity, and the value of decency that rewards repeated viewing and discussion. The critic singles out the dark comedy, supporting characters, Roger Deakins' cinematography, Carter Burwell's score, and the editing as elements that make the film distinctly Coen. [Read](https://collider.com/review-a-serious-man/)
- **/Film**, Peter Sciretta (9/10): A brilliant dark comedy and masterful character study of a family in crisis, comparable to Election, with great performances and an ending that lingers. The reviewer's favorite Coen Brothers film of the last decade. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/505358/tiff-review-the-coen-brothers-a-serious-man/)
- **The Wrap** (85/100, inferred): The critic praises the Coens' darkly observed humor as a philosophical lens on human existence in "A Serious Man," a quasi-autobiographical satire set in 1960s Minnesota. They single out the film's surprising narrative turns and unflinching American vision for praise over more optimistic filmmaking styles. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/coens-are-anti-spielbergs-thank-god-8410/)
- **Eye for Film**, Paul Griffiths: A fine example of the Coens' uniquely offbeat cinema, with eccentric credible characters, superb screenplay and performances, and a grounded recreation of period and place. It offers deadpan dark humour, laugh-out-loud moments and no easy answers, making for an enjoyable rewarding experience. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/a-serious-man-film-review-by-paul-griffiths)
- **HeyUGuys**, Jon Lyus (5): The Coen brothers' darkest and most personal film to date, a rich esoteric work of impeccable detail and cruel laughs set in 1960s Jewish-American suburbia. It excels in memorable characters and oddness that elevates the story of meaningless adversity. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/bfi-lff-review-a-serious-man/)
- **The Playlist**, Rodrigo Perez: The Coens sidestep midlife crisis pitfalls to enrich the story with deep philosophical and spiritual questions; universally great performances, especially Stuhlbarg as a hapless yet not passive everyman figure. It builds with weird absurd elements and strong casting while remaining thoughtful rather than wacky. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/review-serious-man-20091002/)

## Details

- **Director:** Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
- **Director:** Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
- **Writer:** Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
- **Cinematography:** Roger Deakins
- **Editor:** Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
- **Music:** Carter Burwell
- **Production design:** Jess Gonchor
- **Costume design:** Mary Zophres
- **Producer:** Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
- **Cast:** Michael Stuhlbarg as Larry Gopnik; Richard Kind as Uncle Arthur; Fred Melamed as Sy Ableman; Sari Lennick as Judith Gopnik; Aaron Wolff as Danny Gopnik; Jessica McManus as Sarah Gopnik; Peter Breitmayer as Mr. Brandt; Brent Braunschweig as Mitch Brandt
- **Runtime:** 1h 46m
- **Certificate (MPA):** R
- **Release (the US):** 6 November 2009
- **Genres:** Comedy, Drama
- **Also in:** [Best Picture winners](https://film.one/collections/oscar-best-picture.md) (Nominee, 2009)
- **Budget:** $7 million
- **Box office:** $31 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDKHWRbK2_Q

## Where to watch in the US

- Amazon Prime Video: streaming
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd
- Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, hd
- Apple TV: buy $14.99, hd

*Checked 2026-09-15.*

Also available in: AR, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, EE, ES, FR, GB, GR, HK, HU, IE, IL, IN, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NZ, PA, PH, PL, SG, TH, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 2010: Best Picture (nominated)

## If you liked this

- *A Separation* (2011), Fi1m 93: Another household crisis where each reasonable explanation makes the moral choices harder. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/a-separation.md)
- *The Firemen's Ball* (1967): For the embarrassment of communal rituals and people determined to make matters worse.
- *The Trial* (1962): A more nightmarish encounter with authorities who cannot offer a straight answer.
- *After Hours* (1985), Fi1m 80: An ordinary man’s mounting difficulties, handled with a nastier comic momentum. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/after-hours.md)
- *Force Majeure* (2014), Fi1m 84: Family discomfort and precise comic timing, with nobody allowed an easy excuse. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/force-majeure.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/a-serious-man