Existentialism is a favorite milieu of the Coens. It’s a great backdrop for comedy and those big questions about God, faith, and why we’re all here. The stuff Barton Fink thought about, the things The Dude tries to avoid thinking about, and the questions J.K. Simmons asks himself in Burn After Reading, “Why did this happen. What did we learn?” “Is Judy Davis’ head in this box?” all point to the big question: Is there a God? Is God good? Perhaps the character most haunted by this unanswered question was Tommy Lee Jones in No Country for Old Men. Until Now. Tommy Lee Jones doesn’t have shit on Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), the trampled on, emasculated, soul-searching and pure-hearted mensch trying to be A Serious Man. When he begins to lose the things in the world that he thinks are important, and his life begins to crumble, he turns to the community Rabbis looking for reasons and answers. Is there a God? Is God punishing him? The Coens seem to have some mixed feelings about these Jewish leaders, but still seem to hold the idea of faith in the highest regard. God for his part does send a signal to Gopnik, if you want to see it that way, in the jarring finale. Unlike No Country for Old Men, the Coens' regard for faith does manifest a shred of hope in the meaning of life, hidden in the most unlikely of places.
This movie knocked me out and I can’t stop thinking about it. Brush up on your Jefferson Airplane and see it.
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