2010 Best Picture Reviews: A Serious Man & An Education

Well Oscar time is upon us. The big awards show is this Sunday night. Who are you rooting for? Have you even seen any of the nominated movies? In past years your answer to that questions was probably "no," but this year, in an effort to increase TV ratings (& DVD sales), the Academy increased the number of Best Picture nominees from 5 to 10. The thought was that with 10 nominees, some big budget studio movies that people have actually seen would get to join the art house crowd, and the masses would tune in to root for their favorite movie.

Well some big studio films DID in fact get nominated for Best Picture. Time will tell whether that results in a ratings increase.

I'm a movie buff, but could care less about the actual Oscars. I'm fine stopping at the nominees. Give me a list of some of the best movies and performances of the year and I'll choose what I like from them; no need to declare an ultimate winner.

Regardless, I have seen 9 out of 10 of this years Best Picture batch. So I thought I would spend this week briefly reviewing the contenders. After the jump I take a look at "A Serious Man" and "An Education"


A Serious Man

Two years ago the Coen Brothers won the Best Director/Picture combo for "No Country for Old Men." They followed that up with "Burn After Reading" and now what they claim is their most personal film, "A Serious Man."

Set in the suburban Midwest in the 1960s, the movie centers on Larry Gopnik, a middle aged professor with a lot of problems piling up at once: He might not get tenure, a student is blackmailing him, his wife wants a divorce & wants to date Larry's friend, his kids are brats, and his brother is a nutjob with no job prospects sleeping on Larry's couch. All of these problems cause Larry to wonder why God is "punishing" him for simply trying to get by and be a serious man. He visits 3 rabbis to receive guidance and clarity.

Now I like the Coen Brothers generally, and this movie is well done, and does a good job at capturing Larry's frustrations with his life, but the movie just isn't that interesting. Maybe I'd get more out of it if I grew up Jewish, in the Midwest, in the 1960s, but I didn't do any of those things. The acting and the Coens' portrayal of the 60s keeps my interest for a while, but the story is too mundane to keep my interest for the whole movie. I lost interest about 2/3 of the way through. I get that it's sort of the Coens' point that all of these typical problems that Larry faces are a part of life, and how we look at these problems determines whether they destroy us or not, but the conflict is so mundane that it isn't compelling for everyone.

Bottom line: Cool style and acting w/ a story that is not for everyone. Not likely to win.

Trailer:




An Education

This is the one Best Picture nominee that I haven't seen, so I can't really provide any insight into the movie. This just isn't my type of movie. I know it's based on a book, but it looks so generic. I can pretty much tell what it's about just by looking at the poster. Young girl in the 1960s, probably in Europe, falls in love with a much older man. He might be tutoring her or she might be tutoring him, I'm not sure. Either way, through their relationship she receives "an education" on life and love, and her eyes are opened as she matures from a girl to a woman.

I haven't seen the trailer yet or read much about the movie, but I'm pretty confidant I'm in the ballpark. I have yet to have someone prove me wrong. Have you seen it? If so I'd love your insight. I'd be willing to post a guest review if you write a good one up.

I'm sure it's a good movie if you like these types of films. I am a fan of the novels by Nick Hornby, who adopted the script (& received an Oscar nomination for it) but did not write the book it is based on. Hornby's books have been turned into pretty good movies ("High Fidelity" & "About A Boy") so I bet he's good at writing a film script too.

Bottom Line: No idea, but it would be quite an upset if it wins Best Picture.

Trailer (After watching it for the first time, my guess review does not change):



Have you seen "A Serious Man" or "An Education?" Do you agree or disagree with my reviews? If so, let me know. Tomorrow: "Avatar" & "The Blind Side."