As with any new Coen brothers
film, I eagerly anticipated the release of Inside
Llewyn Davis and the good things I’d heard from America
before its UK
release only added to my excitement. The fact that it’s taken close to a week
to write something about the film though, might tell you something about my
reaction to the movie. Unfortunately I left the cinema feeling disappointed.
I’d go so far as to say that I didn’t really like or even enjoy the film and
the last week or so has found me struggling to find a spin on it so that I
could reward it with a favourable review. Alas I’m out of time so here’s what I
think.
To put it bluntly, the film did
little for me. I wasn’t entertained and was rarely amused. I didn’t get much
from the story and disliked the central character. It left me feeling cold and
uninterested and I never got on board with Llewyn, willing him on to succeed.
Instead I just thought he was a bit of a dick. His misfortunes were often his
own and his undoubted talent was clouded by his personality. Although the
Coens’ attempt to present other characters even less favourably, I still wanted
nothing to do with him and was only happy when he was singing.
