--- title: "A Serious Man: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/a-serious-man/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/a-serious-man" critics_score: 78 critics_reviews: 19 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): what the critics said Critics' score 78 from 19 reviews: 16 positive, 1 mixed, 2 negative. 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. ## Little White Lies — James King Rating 4/5/5. 19 November 2009. 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 the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/a-serious-man) ## Time Out — Ben Walters Rating 5/5. 17 November 2009. 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 the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/a-serious-man-1) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 19 November 2009. 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 the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/nov/19/a-serious-man-coen-brothers) ## Slant Magazine — Fernando F. Croce Rating 3.5/4. 29 September 2009. 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 the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/a-serious-man/) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 2 October 2009. 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 the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-oct-02-et-serious-man2-story.html) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 7 October 2009. 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 the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/a-serious-man-2009) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 12 September 2009. Festival review. 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 the review](https://www.screendaily.com/a-serious-man-/5005569.article) ## The Times — Wendy Ide Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 21 November 2009. 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 the review](https://www.thetimes.com/article/a-serious-man-n0dfjsh9bdr) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 2 October 2009. 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 the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/02/movies/02serious.html) ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 2012. 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 the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/a-serious-man-makes-comedy-out-of-a-crisis-7417591.html) ## Total Film Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 4 November 2009. 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 the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/a-serious-man-review/) ## Variety — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 October 2009. Festival review. 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 the review](https://variety.com/2009/film/markets-festivals/a-serious-man-2-1200477140/) ## Sight and Sound — Michael Atkinson Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 1 December 2009. 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 the review](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/5232) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 20 November 2009. 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 the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/a-serious-man-15-1823725.html) ## The New Yorker — David Denby Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 28 September 2009. 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 the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/10/05/gods-and-victims) ## Empire — Dan Jolin 26 October 2009. 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 the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/serious-man-review/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Kirk Honeycutt 11 September 2009. Festival review. 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 the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/man-film-review-2-93497/) ## Den of Geek — Luke Savage Rating 5/5. 16 November 2009. 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 the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/a-serious-man-review-4/) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Rating A. 15 October 2009. 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 the review](https://collider.com/review-a-serious-man/) ## /Film — Peter Sciretta Rating 9/10. 12 September 2009. Festival review. 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 the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/505358/tiff-review-the-coen-brothers-a-serious-man/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 8 October 2009. 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 the review](https://www.thewrap.com/coens-are-anti-spielbergs-thank-god-8410/) ## Eye for Film — Paul Griffiths 1 November 2009. 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 the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/a-serious-man-film-review-by-paul-griffiths) ## HeyUGuys — Jon Lyus Rating 5. 28 October 2009. Festival review. 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 the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/bfi-lff-review-a-serious-man/) ## The Playlist — Rodrigo Perez 2 October 2009. 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 the review](https://theplaylist.net/review-serious-man-20091002/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/a-serious-man.md