A Serious Man poster

A Serious Man

2009106 minutesR
3.1
Arcplot Score
📝 Unconventional
Unverified
7.0IMDb
🍅 89%Rotten Tomatoes
Ⓜ️ 88/100Metacritic
🎬 6.7TMDb
📊 3.9Popularity
🏆Nominated for 2 Oscars. 17 wins & 80 nominations total
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Directed by: Coen Brothers
Bloomington, Minnesota, 1967: Jewish physics lecturer Larry Gopnik is a serious and a very put-upon man. His daughter is stealing from him to save up for a nose job, his pot-head son, who gets stoned at his own bar-mitzvah, only wants him round to fix the TV aerial and his useless brother Arthur is an unwelcome house guest. But both Arthur and Larry get turfed out into a motel when Larry's wife Judy, who wants a divorce, moves her lover, Sy, into the house and even after Sy's death in a car crash they are still there. With lawyers' bills mounting for his divorce, Arthur's criminal court appearances and a land feud with a neighbour Larry is tempted to take the bribe offered by a student to give him an illegal exam pass mark. And the rabbis he visits for advice only dole out platitudes. Still God moves in mysterious - and not always pleasant - ways, as Larry and his family will find out.

Box Office

Budget:$7.0M
Revenue:$31.4M
Profit:$24.4M

Arcplot Score Breakdown

Beat Timing Precision4.4/10
Emotional Arc Impact3/10
Thematic Consistency2/10
Overall Score3.1/10

Beat Sheet

15 plot points

A Serious Man Arcplot
1
Opening Image
1 min
2
Theme Stated
5 min
3
Set-Up
15 min
4
Catalyst
25 min
5
Debate
35 min
6
Break Into Two
45 min
7
B Story
55 min
8
Fun and Games
65 min
9
Midpoint
75 min
10
Bad Guys Close In
85 min
11
All Is Lost
95 min
12
Dark Night of the Soul
100 min
13
Break Into Three
102 min
14
Finale
104 min
15
Final Image
106 min

Emotional Arc

+100-10

Plot Points

#1

Opening Image

1 min

Larry Gopnik, a physics professor, lives an ordinary life; opening anxiety sets tone.

#2

Theme Stated

5 min

Existential uncertainty; morality, faith, and chance.

#3

Set-Up

15 min

Family problems, colleagues, and neighbor conflicts emerge.

#4

Catalyst

25 min

Wife announces she may leave him; chaos begins.

#5

Debate

35 min

Can Larry control his life or find meaning in chaos?

#6

Break Into Two

45 min

Attempts to resolve personal and professional issues; complications multiply.

#7

B Story

55 min

Relationship with sons and brother; moral guidance and advice.

#8

Fun and Games

65 min

Comedy arises from absurdity of life and bureaucracy.

#9

Midpoint

75 min

Larry's plans backfire; life worsens.

#10

Bad Guys Close In

85 min

Pressure mounts; student lawsuits, health concerns, financial strain.

#11

All Is Lost

95 min

Larry faces existential collapse; all attempts fail.

#12

Dark Night of the Soul

100 min

Questions of faith, meaning, and justice dominate.

#13

Break Into Three

102 min

Attempts final solutions; still uncertain outcomes.

#14

Finale

104 min

Acceptance of ambiguity; life unresolved yet continues.

#15

Final Image

106 min

Larry walking into unknown future; existential questions remain.