A Serious Man – directed by Ethan and Joel Coen. Drama. A helpless Jewish man is beset on all sides. 106 minutes Color 2009.
★★
A vehicle for a Jewish sad-sack – this is a Woody Allen movie without Woody Allen but with the characteristic Coen cruelty of temperament which Woody Allen mercifully does not possess. That cruelty was arresting in early pictures such as Blood Simple and Miller’s Crossing, and held at bay by the presence of Frances McDormand in Fargo, an actor whose real humor displaces all such pretense – pretense because the Coen brothers have done nothing to earn such cruelty. For them it is a fad, the fashion of hard heartedness as hip, like wearing a neckerchief and hoping to be taken for a cowboy. This story is a Neil Simonized Job story of an ordinary middle class Jewish college teacher being beset by every woe imaginable. It is very well acted and produced and directed, of course. However, I found it tiresome because the teacher is written as a schmuck, a man who can never speak up for himself not just because he is surrounded by loudmouths but merely because the part is written that way – hopeless – which is not good enough. I would not mind this character being bulldozed; I don’t mind Bob Hope being bulldozed by Bing Crosby; but in A Serious Man I don’t believe it. I believe the Coen brothers think it’s funny or tragic or both, whereas he is simply annoying. If you are infuriated by a fly, get out of bed and find the fly swatter. Of course, there are some telling characters, who, while not real outside of a cartoon, give value for your buck: the neighbor lady with the mummy eyes, and his wife’s boyfriend. But his search for counsel with his rabbis is a put up job. He is never really looking for God, nor does he stumble upon God, nor is he even tempted by God. He goes to temple as one goes to a barbershop, as a form of social neatness. But the serious man is not serious, and movie is footling. The Coen boys have not had much to offer for some years now. I have seen all their movies, but I have, I believe, now seen all I am going to see.
Archive for the ‘Written and Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen’ Category
A Serious Man
A Serious Man
A Serious Man — written and directed by Ethan and Joel Coen. Drama. 109 minutes Color 2006.
★★
This is a Woody Allen movie without Woody Allen – but with the characteristic Coen cruelty of temperament which Woody Allen mercifully does not possess. That cruelty was arresting in early pictures such as Blood Simple and Miller’s Crossing, and in Fargo held at bay by the presence of Frances MacDormand, an actor whose real humor displaces all such pretentious nonsense – pretentious because the Coen brothers have done nothing to earn such cruelty. For them it is simply pretend, a pose, a fad, like wearing a neckerchief to tell folks you’re a cowboy. This story is a Neil Simonized Job story of an ordinary middle class Jewish college teacher beset by every woe imaginable. It is very well acted and produced and directed, of course. However, I found it tiresome because the teacher is written as a schmuck, a man who can never speak up for himself not just because he is surrounded by loudmouths but because the part is written that way – which is not good enough. I don’t mind a character being bulldozed; I don’t mind Bob Hope being bulldozed by Bing Crosby, but in A Serious Man I don’t believe it. I believe the Coen brothers think it’s funny or tragic or both, whereas it is simply phony and annoying. If you are infuriated by a fly, get out of bed and find the fly swatter. Of course, there are some telling characters, who, while not real outside of a cartoon, give value for your buck: the neighbor lady with the mummy eyes and the wife’s boyfriend. But his search for counsel or consolation with his rabbis is a put up job. He is never really looking for God, nor does he stumble upon God, nor is he even tempted by God. He goes to temple as one goes to a barbershop, as a form of social neatness. The Coen boys have not had much to offer for many years now. I have seen all their movies, but I have, I believe, now seen all I am going to see.
True Grit
True Grit – written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen – Western. Seeking revenge, an adolescent girl hires two conflicting agents and accompanies them on the quest for a low-life killer. 110 minutes Color 2010.
* * * * *
As with all the Coen boys’ works, the excellence of the piece depends upon the writing, and this one sure does. It’s set forth in the style that omits verbal conjunctions. No one says “it’s”; everyone says “it is”. This gives the work the elevated tone of fable, and if we were reading it we would be reading a dime Western of the day. The second stylistic trick is to write it in lingo. The lower class types speak in a vernacular completely fabricated by themselves, while the educated speak in fancy locutions, such that they do not say “leave” whenever they can say “depart”. In both cases the audience is faced with the task of translating English into English. And translation is a formal task and we take it on readily enough. For that task immediately produces in the audience a respect for the material, that is to say, a standing back from it to regard it, and this is a proper and pleasing thing to do. It both distances us and engages us at the same time. And no point does it fail to entertain us, for two reasons. First the narrative is so beguiling, by which I mean the way the directors handle what-happens-next of the story. The journey through the Indian wilderness is one instance and the rescue at the end is another, and it is so all the way through, making it one of the very best pieces these boys have ever given us. When we are done we know we have seen a movie worth seeing. The second ingredient is the performance of a very well cast cast. Jeff Bridges clobbers his way through the thicket of dirty beard, tobacco, booze, and one good eye to bring forth that cantankerous geezer we’ve all met, all remember, and would not wish to spend a lot of time with. Hailie Steinfeld plays the righteous adolescent (think of Katherine Hepburn aged 14), who does have to spend a lot of time with him. James Brolin, as the target of the revenge, is marvelous in his few scenes, particularly in the middle of a river facing off against her. And Matt Damon, the humorless Texas Ranger, plays his role like an Eagle Scout On A Mission For A Merit Badge, which is just right, for it makes him look like a fool. For fooling us is a Coen Bros’. stock in trade. We are even fooled by that bear-headed medicine man we meet. I suppose the Coen Brothers are a bear-headed medicine man themselves. They sure are The Brother Grim. And they sure do entertain us here.
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