Joel and Ethan Coen’s 14th feature film was also their third  film (out of four) to be nominated for Best Picture (1996’s Fargo was the first, 2007 Best Picture winner Now Country For Old Men the second, 2010’s True Grit the fourth). It’s also probably the most insular of their films; those who love it really love it, but many who saw it just couldn’t relate. The setting of the film,  St. Louis Park, Minnesota in the late 1960s, adds a slight autobiographical element to the film and its plot deals heavily with Jewish mysticism and spirituality. The film was only nominated for two Academy Award, winning none: Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture. The other films nominated for Best Picture that year were: Avatar, An Education, District 9, Inglourious Basterds, Precious, The Blind Side, Up, Up In The Air and winner The Hurt Locker.

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