A Serious Man

Directors Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Producers Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Production company Working Title Films

US distribution Focus Features

International sales Focus Features International

US release date October 2

Worldwide gross $15m to December 13

Best picture chances

A Serious Man has its detractors but its supporters are passionate, and the Coens have an outside chance at a best picture nomination for their wittiest film to date. Winner of the best picture Oscar in 2007 for No Country For Old Men, the brorthers might be too smart to secure across-the-board love with this film and are likely to be on surer ground with True Grit next year.

What Screen said

“A unique alchemy seems to take hold on those sporadic occasions when the Coen brothers decide to get down with their ethnic roots. Eighteen years after mining the Jewish auteur subculture of 1940s Hollywood for their now-classic Barton Fink, the prolific duo deconstruct the Jewish suburban community of their youth with an astringent emotional and atmospheric specificity, producing a frequently inspired and always vigorously felt dark comedy that ranks with their finest. Having gone the movie-star route for their last effort, Burn After Reading, the Coens have assembled a stage-savvy cast for A Serious Man, showcasing their considerable giftswith a pungently witty script that would not be out of place in a live theatrical setting.”

Jan Stuart