Revocation of previous statement

In my recent post about A Serious Man, I said "Actually, the Coen Brothers seem the sort who care about their viewers’ opinions about as little as I cared about the plight of Larry Gopnik..."

This is not true. I did care about Larry Gopnik, which I realized after talking to my mom. I think sometimes when people have such inconceivable bad luck, I get frustrated and take it out on them, because it is easier to feel anger and fed-uppedness than it is to feel sadness and sympathy. I felt this same sort of frustration during the first part of Jane Eyre, which is why it took me until the third read to actually enjoy the book. It's easy to start blaming the recipient of the misfortune for the misfortune. I think this is what I did with poor Larry ("Just STAND UP FOR YOURSELF and PUNCH SOMEONE ALREADY!"), which is why I left feeling cold hearted.

The larger point of this post is that I don't ever want the aim of criticism to supercede my natural human reaction the things. I do not want to fall into the trap of snark for snark's sake. Obviously, I hope to analyze movies fairly, objectively, and level-headedly, but I hope to always leave room for compassion and empathy, because what are movies if they cease to make us feel anything?

Vent

Actors who annoy me for reasons I can't articulate:

-Kevin Spacey (look at that self-satisfied smirk...or is it a simper?)

-Tim Robbins (when I see his face I think "Evil lurks beneath this seemingly harmless exterior")

Actors who annoy me for reasons I CAN articulate:

-Nicolas Cage (not a good actor, picks dumb movies to be in, perpetually lethargic-sounding voice, droopy eyes, unattractive, only got famous because he is a Coppola?)

A Serious Disappointment

This review is going to be short and not-so-sweet. It's probably been two months since I watched this movie and I am behind as it is.

The movie in question is last fall's A Serious Man, directed by the Coen Brothers. The reason I was so excited to see this movie is because a couple of scenes from it were filmed at St. Olaf, and a handful of students got to be extras, including Stephen.

To give you an incredibly brief synopsis: A Serious Man is about a Jewish college professor, Larry Gopnik, who, despite being an alright guy, has a whole lot of bad things happen to him in rapt succession: he fails to receive tenure, is bribed by a student, discovers his wife’s infidelity, must deal with his wayward and annoying kids, thinks he has cancer, and to top it off, has anti-Semitic neighbors…Larry is accurately described by most reviewers as “a modern-day Job”.

The acting is great (virtually all complete unknowns), the set pieces fantastic, and the abrupt quirkiness so characteristic of the Coen Brothers is present and in full force. But these elements, either individually or collectively, failed to make me feel anything. In my head I knew that it was truly tragic that all these bad things were happening to the same nice guy who didn’t deserve any of them, much less all of them at once.

The thing is, I just didn’t…..care. I guess I walked away from the TV screen with feelings of "I have it pretty good," but the sentiment was more obligatory than naturally induced.

Since I already know the Coen Brothers to be accomplished filmmakers (personal favorites include No Country For Old Men and Fargo), I won’t question their genius. I will however theorize on where they went wrong:

1) This movie was an inside joke, so inside in fact that they forgot to let anyone else in, namely their audience. I felt somewhat the same way about Burn After Reading, but at least didn’t get bored during that one (though had it not been so star-studded…Clooney, Brad Pitt, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand…I probably would have). David Denby of The New Yorker called both movies “bleak, black, and belittling”, and I am prone to agree.

2) They tried to make it funny, touching, satirical, perhaps even revealingly autobiographical, but missed the mark.

Since the Coen Brothers are just about as intentional as one can get when it comes to moviemaking, my guess is that #1 is closer to the truth, and that the movie I saw was exactly the movie they wanted me to see. They probably just hoped David Denby and I would like it a little better.

Actually, the Coen Brothers seem the sort who care about their viewers’ opinions about as little as I cared about the plight of Larry Gopnik, so scratch that last statement.

Regardless of any of this, I am excitedly awaiting their next film, True Grit, which in my mind will be No Country For Old Men with a 14 year-old female protagonist…truly intriguing!

Catch Up

I've fallen grossly, wildly behind. Reviews of A Serious Man, A Single Man, Inception, The Other Guys, Agora, and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo pending. I'm posting this so you all hold me accountable!