A Serious Man is a drama/dark comedy film written, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It was released on October 2, 2009 in the United States. The film loosely retells the Jewish biblical story of Job in the modern American era.www.tampabay.com/features/movies/coen-brothers-a-serious-man-has-troubles-of-job-without-uplift/1048550 The film has attracted a highly positive critical response, currently holding an 85% 'Fresh' Rating at Rotten Tomatoes.

Plot summary

The film opens with a short prologue, set in an Eastern European shtetl many years ago. A wife (Yelena Shmulenson) welcomes her husband (Allen Lewis Rickman) in from a blizzard. He explains that the wheel on his wagon was damaged, but that an elderly neighbor appeared to assist him. The wife scolds him for this, telling him the neighbor is dead and that he was actually helped by a wandering spirit, or “dybbuk”, which should be avoided at all costs. The husband dismisses the idea, just as the “dybbuk” (Fyvush Finkel) knocks loudly on their door. The husband invites him in, and the man appears healthy and jovial, but the wife remains fearful, and soon stabs their guest in the chest with an icepick. For a moment, he appears to be unharmed, until blood trickles down his chest. Whether he is actually a “dybbuk” is left deliberately unclear (the cast credits include a question mark to communicate this).