A Serious Man

Infobox_Movie
name = The Serious Man


imdb_id =
writer = Ethan Coen
Joel Coen
starring =
director = Joel Coen
Ethan Coen
producer = Ethan Coen
Joel Coen
cinematography = Roger Deakins
distributor = Working Title Films
Focus Features
release_date = 2009 (USA)
runtime =
movie_language = English
budget =
music =
awards =
tagline =
imdb_id = 1019452

A Serious Man is a black comedy feature film currently in production as of September 2008. It was written and is being produced and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen.

Plot summary

The film is set in St. Louis Park, Minnesota in the year 1967, and is intended in some ways to reflect the childhood of the Coen brothers as they recall it. [http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/movies/27957494.html?elr=KArksUUUU]

The protagonist is Larry Gopnik, an Jewish academic living in a middle class Jewish neighborhood in a Minneapolis suburb in 1967. [cite web|url=http://movies.about.com/od/nocountryforoldmen/a/countryjc111307_2.htm|title=Joel and Ethan Coen discuss "Burn After Reading"|publisher=About.com|accessdaymonth=26 November|accessyear=2007] The story follows Gopnik's struggle as his wife Judith informs him that she is going to leave him, as she is having an affair with his work colleague Sy Ableman. His inept brother Arthur, who lives in their house and refuses to leave, has moved in because he neither has the cash nor the maturity to live on his own. [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1019452/] Larry starts to question the value of life after he discovers his wife wants a divorce. He also has trouble with his children stealing money out of his wallet (his son, Danny, who is having his Bar Mitzvah soon and is buying marijuana, while his daughter, Sarah, is saving for plastic surgery). [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1019452/] In addition a grad student tries to bribe him into giving her a passing grade from Larry, while at the same time threatening to sue him for defamation of character and an attractive neighbor who torment Larry with nude sunbathing lead him to an existential crisis. He seeks advice from three different rabbis in an attempt to solve his problems and to become an austere and devoted man.

Cast and characters

*Michael Stuhlbarg: Larry Gopnik
*Sari Wagner: Judith Gopnik (Larry's wife)
*Richard Kind: Arthur Gopnik (Larry's brother)
*Fred Melamed: Sy Ableman
*Aaron Wolff: Danny Gopnik
*Jessica McManus: Sarah Gopnik
*Adam Arkin: Don Milgram
*George Wyner: Rabbi Nachter
*Katherine Borowitz: Mimi Nudell
*Fyvush Finkel: Reb Groshkover
*Jack Swiler: Howard Altar
*Tim Harlan-Marks: Jewish Bus Driver

Open auditions for the roles of Danny and Sarah were held on May 4, 2008, at the Sabes Jewish Community Center in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, one of the scheduled shooting locations for the film. Open auditions for the role of Sarah were also held in June 2008 in Chicago, Illinois.

Production

Considerable attention was paid to the setting; it was important to the Coens to find a neighborhood of original-looking suburban rambler homes as they would have appeared in St Louis Park, Minnesota in the mid 1960s. Locations were scouted in nearby communities Edina, Richfield, Brooklyn Center, and Hopkins [http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/movies/11525326.html] before a suitable location was found in Bloomington. [http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/movies/27957494.html?elr=KArksUUUU]

Location filming began on September 8, 2008 in Minnesota.

Long time collaborator Roger Deakins rejoined the Coen brothers as cinematographer, following his absence from Burn After Reading. This is the tenth film that he has worked on with the Coen brothers. Mary Zophres returns for her ninth collaboration with the brothers.cite web |url=http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=48634|title=Production Begins on the Coen's A Serious Man|publisher=Comingsoon.net|accessdate=September 9|accessyear=2008]

Filming began in the north wing of Normandale Community College's 60's-looking library on Oct. 1, 2008, with filming expected to wrap no later than Oct 20th. [http://faculty.normandale.edu/~lions_roar/] The Coen brothers are planning to shoot some scenes of the film at St. Olaf College in the college's old science building because of its similar period architecture. [Citation
last = Henke
first = David
title = Coen brothers will use St. Olaf for movie
newspaper = Northfield News
date = 2008-08-19
url = http://northfieldnews.com/news.php?viewStory=45735 ]

References

External links

* [http://www.coenbrothers.net/ Coenesque: The Films of the Coen Brothers]
* [http://www.youknow-forkids.com/ You Know, For Kids!: The Movies of the Coen Brothers]
* [http://www.filmjerk.com/news/article.php?id_new=526 Coen Brothers to get "Serious" in April]
* [http://www.empireonline.com/news/feed.asp?NID=20639 The Coen Brothers are Serious]