12 Fantastic Films You Only Remember For One Scene

8. A Serious Man - The Goy's Teeth

This 2009 dark comedy from the Coen brothers tells of the tribulations of Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a put-upon professor who is beset by one minor tragedy after another. Having reached rock bottom, Larry wonders if all this bad luck is a sign from God and so he decides to consult a rabbi (Simon Helberg). After finding his advice too vague, Larry visits a second rabbi, an older man by the name of Nachtner (George Wyner), who relates the story of Dr. Sussman. Dr Sussman is a local dentist who, one day, is surprised to find the words 'Help me, save me' engraved, in Hebrew, in the teeth of a patient. This discovery drives him crazy; soon he's peering into other patients' mouths ''goy and Jew alike'' in search of a deeper meaning, checking his own teeth, checking his wife's, converting the letters into a phone number...you name it. Says Nachtner: ''Sussman goes home. Can Sussman eat? No. Can Sussman sleep? No. What does it mean? Is it a message for him, for Sussman? And if so, from whom? Does Sussman know? Sussman doesn't know.'' As Nachtner continues his voiceover, we see Sussman carry his perplexed expression through day and night. Eventually, he stops checking. There's a long pause before Larry asks ''And... what happened to the goy?'' Nachtner, clearly unaware how little he has helped, replies ''The goy? Who cares?'' Only the Coen brothers could make a meandering, anti-climactic anecdote so memorable.