0123456789

Warning!spoilers Contains possible How to understand the ’ latest opus. Clue: it’s their most personal film yet. Or as Ethan puts it, “There’s nothing autobiographical about it...”

WORDS NICK DE SEMLYeN

“Receive with simplicity their home town (the same Minnesotan ’burb where they once shot their Kissinger romp, along with everything that happens to you.” other efforts like My Pits Smell Sublime) to make a low- Match point: the double-headed duo echo each other’s directions for Aaron Wolff (Danny). Shot budget black comedy that could be their most baffling yet. near their home town of St. Louis Park, the Rashi The 1960s-set tale of a Jewish man trying to keep his cool film’s littered with scraps from the Coens’ past. in the face of family and work crises, A Serious Man has no Brad Pitt — the lead is , a fortysomething scar night, 2008. In LA it’s 8.45pm theatre actor whose preceding film role was as an unnamed and time for the penultimate attorney in Body Of Lies. The film has a hypercryptic award: Best Director. The opening sequence in which the dialogue is spoken in 1. THE DYBBUK event’s organisers are hoping Yiddish. And while it’s set in the exact place and time the The film opens at night in a shtetl, as a Jewish man leads his for tears, hugs and hurricanes Coen brothers grew up, and is full of incidents drawn horse and cart home through a snowstorm. While he describes Oof hyperbole. Instead, they get the Coen brothers. Joel and Ethan, from their lives, it’s apparently not autobiographical. his day to his wife, she freezes in horror. A man he bumped into ever-inscrutable, shuffle onto the spotlit stage. applause A headscratcher, then, but a Coens headscratcher, on his journey is believed to have died years ago. She whispers dies down. “Thank you,” Ethan mumbles, then sidesteps from the which is the best kind going. The film is hilarious, sad that he’s encountered a dybbuk, a malevolent spirit in human microphone. Hesitant laughter from the assembled glitterati. His big and mind-boggling, often all at the same time. The form. As the wind outside quickens, there’s a rap at the door... brother tries a little harder, attempting an anecdote about a film they same can be said of an interview with Joel and Ethan Joel: How does the opening relate to the main film? (Chuckles) made as kids in Minneapolis called Henry Kissinger: Man On The — pinning them down on whys, wheres and whos is We’re not sure. Go. “What we’re doing now doesn’t feel that much different from like chasing a hat through the woods. Regardless, Ethan: You’d think we would have thought about that by now. what we were doing then,” he deadpans. Then they’re off, slinking Empire runs them to ground — along with the cast Michael Stuhlbarg (Larry Gopnik): I wish I had something smart out of the Hollywood full-beam and back to their comfort zone. — at Toronto’s Park Hyatt hotel midway through to say about it. But I don’t. I would say that the beautiful quote at Or should that be discomfort zone? With two major hits in No the film festival. Having attended a party in their the beginning of the movie — the Talmudic scholar Rashi’s quote, Country For Old Men and Burn After Reading, the elusive cult honour the night before at top restaurant Opus, “Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you” — has leaders suddenly had four-quadrant appeal. To couch it in more we’re hoping they’ll be relaxed enough to spill relevance to both parts of the movie. When a dybbuk comes into horrifying terms, your mum’s probably looking forward to their secrets on the film’s key talking points. your life, treat it kindly. When bad things happen to you, don’t panic. next film. Hollywood would have given them the lucre to make “Going out and promoting a movie is not our That’s how I link the two parts. anything they liked; if they’d ever wanted to make a superhero favourite part of the process,” Ethan declares Ethan: It wouldn’t be a better movie if [the opening sequence] were movie, now would have been the time. Instead, they retreated to as he settles in his chair. And we’re off... gone... I don’t really know why. ››

[[1L]] december 2009 EMPIRE www.empireonline.com Subscribe at www.empireonline.com/sub EMPIRE december 2009 [[2R]] 0123456789 [[1L]] Then there are his neighbours: aggressive rednecks on one side, side, one on rednecks aggressive neighbours: his are there Then a sexy woman who likes sunbathing nude on the other. the on nude sunbathing likes who woman sexy a his mad-genius brother Arthur is permanently in the toilet. toilet. the in permanently is Arthur brother mad-genius his started thinking morestarted about ourearly the older we’ve years got. way.a personal about nothingautobiographical it. There’s they lived. Andmany of Lennick: Ethan: Joel: Richard Kind (Uncle Lennick: Stuhlbarg: Sari Lennick (Judith Ethan: I guessbecausehe’s apainintheneck! hisneck.Why doeshehave that? the sebaceous cyst onthebackof from! creation, He’s always abizarre inthetoiletdrainingpussfrom Stuhlbarg: meet we and forward Flash 2. LARRY and family man. Things are not going well: his wife is leaving leaving is wife his well: going not are Things man. family and in theMidwest, but thatwasn’t about aJewish community. interesting thing, togobackourchildhood.” We didsetFargo grew upwith.Alltheboysgrew thatare friendswithDanny, for instance. him for a fleshy blowhard named Sy Ableman, his son Danny Danny son his Ableman, Sy named blowhard fleshy a for him there. So that’s anicein-joke. Meshbesher. He’s gotanannoying commercial that’s always onTV because Ilive inMinnesota,there isactually alocallawyer named away —andthere was thenameSamsky. Also, andIonly know this as the one they grew up in. They were upin.They as theonethey very grew specific: when you walk which isaplaqueonthewall withnamesof life— were shootingatthesynagogue,Joel tookusover tothetree of is misbehaving, his tenure at the college is under threat and and threat under is college the at tenure his misbehaving, is but thisisafamily magazine... by thecops. We would tell you whatfor, Uncle Arthur(Richard Kind)getscollared Jefferson Airplaneandgoodweed. Right: This picture: Danny(Aaron Wolff), fan of

I’m notreally sure why we thought,“Well, thiscouldbean december 2009 I can’t seeushaving donethis movie inour20s.We’ve For it’s us, justastory, we don’t in relate tothecharacters They requested that thehousehaveThey thesamelayout Samsky,Mrs. thehotnaked neighbour, we isreal. When I seeDanny asamixture of We actuallyof shotparts G OPNIK’ Arthur): Gopnik):

the characternamescomefrom peoplethey EMPIRE S arry, hapless physics professor professor physics hapless arry, L HO I’ve noideawhere came Arthur They toldyouThey that?Ha!

ME LIFE

the filmintown where

Joel andEthan.

people who have passed

(Wild West TVsitcom ) FTroop...picture ( A) father experiencedwhenfather he was aneconomicsteacheratuniversity. Joel: salve, spiritual Seeking 3. Ethan: Joel: Ethan: Joel: on his neck.” draining puss from the cyst creation, always in the toilet “Uncle Arthur is a bizarre of synagogue elders — — elders synagogue of kind of an observantJew, myalittlelessso, father but we upinthat grew Meanwhile, Danny experiences his his experiences Danny Meanwhile, to theright. in, thekitchenhadtobeleftandbedroom hallway of Jefferson Airplane... Jefferson of a marijuana-induced haze. And along the way, there’s a a there’s way, the along And haze. marijuana-induced a

THE We upinafairly observanthousehold.Mymother was grew Good music. Nicethemetune. Some of

house. We went toHebrew schooland alltherest of We’re Storch fans. Larry Incidental detailsare drawn from ourlives. We usedtowatch THREE RABBIS

h tf Gopnikexperiencescamefrom thingsour the stuff abbis Scott, Scott, abbis R arry attempts to consult a trio trio a consult to attempts arry L Richard Kind ar Mitzvah through through Mitzvah ar B achtner and Marshak. Marshak. and achtner N www.empireonline.com

lot it, but

Subscribe at www.empireonline.com/sub

aquarius (1), kobal (1), getty (1) was. Andthey hadtoadmitthey’d madeitup. peoplewho were scholars, supposedtoknow what this bunch of gotconfronted apparently They byWhich a isanonsenseterm! point Rabbi Scott says, “Rabbi Nachtnerisaway onanetzmonim.” at fit,it’sof abigpart of parts you’re notinterested inthetheological question, though.Even if that we knewwe’d have itintoafilm. toget got soexcited about theword when andtheconcept toldus Carter inspiration anddidcomposesomething calledtheMentaculus.We the composer, hadafriend.We never methim,but hewas given to Joel: Ethan: Mentaculus, the is elements abstract most film’s the of One 4. Joel: Stuhlbarg: Ethan: Joel: Ethan: being imposedon. we weren’t crazyabout it.We were typicalkids:we feltourtimewas a notebook that Uncle Arthur has filled with weird scribblings scribblings weird with filled has Arthur Uncle that notebook a maybe itwasn’t off far interesting blend... cantorial music. Sothosetwo make thingstogether an (picture inJefferson Airplane being immersed B)andJewish and equations. equations. and

THE But we weren’t stoned! And Carter did enjoyAnd Carter therendition thatwe cameupwith.So weWhen thoughtbacktothatperiod,we remember The wholeThe Jewish thanjustareligious thingisbigger We were bothBarMitzvahed. That’s onespecificthingwe Burwell,That’s canexplain.Carter MENTACUL They lovedThey playing around withthelanguage.Atone arry finds it strangely horrifying. strangely it finds arry L

the original.

your identity. US

so fuckit.CanIsay that? existential crisis.Attheend,everything isjustgoing toblow away, Who knows?Who theuniverse —couldbeinthisbook. the dybbuk, themysteries of a beauty. secrets —thingsabout Butit’s alsoscary. Allkindsof whotheirs live was inSalinas.There asymmetrytoitand to thisfilm,themystical tone. Vita. ButIalsowent Fink.Iseethatasanancestor backtoBarton research for my Graduate(picture role, hesaidThe C)andLaDolce a loving —it’s homage noteven allthatgoodamovie. with powerful currents. aprofit. Butit’sphone bookandturned anastoundingmovie, After Reading, withthatcastwho couldhave justread the Ethan: Kind: ›› [email protected] Joel: Ethan: Stuhlbarg: Lennick: Joel: twister a finds movie the of shot final stunning The 5. Kind: Ethan: I was bawling. endsceneisjustaperfectdistillationof That approaching one of the characters. characters. the of one approaching or silly in-joke? in-joke? silly or

A SeriousManis outonNovember 20andisreviewed onpage58.

FINALLY, We Storch. dolike Larry Well, we do love rippingoff This will certainly shock some people. It’s not Burn willcertainlyshock somepeople. It’s notBurn This It really isawork of If nothing else, it gets FTroop nothingelse,itgets uponthebigscreen. If It was always onTVwhen we were kids.Butit’s notlike Somebody saiditlookslike theserialkiller’s bookinSeven. I madesuchafool of hnIakdJe htIsol ac ntrso IaskedWhen Joel what of Ishouldwatch interms THE T

r,dn ytoats red f donebyart, two friendsof artist ORNADO

yefatthepremiere lastnight. myself The Coens based the “hot naked neighbour” The Coensbasedthe“hotnaked neighbour” Ethan. Right:Larry(MichaelStuhlbarg) gets EMPIRE

stoned withMrs Samsky(AmyLandecker). The WizardThe Of P This picture: Karate 101withJoeland rofound symbolism symbolism rofound december 2009 on areal-life acquaintance. A Serious Man A Serious

Oz (picture D).

the

[[2R]]