The reason I saw this film is that it's a Coen Brothers film--and I nearly always love their films--whether they are comedies or dramas. However, "Inside Llewyn Davis" was, for me, a completely boring film with very little to recommend it. If I hadn't known it was a Coen film, I never would have guessed it aside from having John Goodman in an odd little role and a reference to Ulysses.

Llewyn Davis is a struggling fictional folk singer. Not only is he only moderately talented, he's pretty much a bum--living off others and hoping they'll let him sleep on their couch for a day or two. Now if he was a nice person, this could be forgiven. But, unfortunately, he's a rather foul-mouthed guy for the early 1960s and there isn't a lot to like or admire. This film is about a week in his life where not a lot happens. And to me, this ALL sums up why I didn't like the film--Llewyn is a jerk and nothing of consequence happens in the movie. End of story. I kept hoping SOMETHING would happen to make it all worth watching but no such luck.

On the positive side, Oscar Isaac's acting was good as the title character. And,....well, I guess that's all there is on the positive side. I rarely have seen a movie so praised by critics that left me this dissatisfied. In this sense, I'd place it among films like "Tree of Life" and "The English Patient". See it if you want--just don't be surprised if there just isn't much to enjoy in this one.

It's 1961 in Greenwich Village. Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) is a struggling folk singer who lost his musical partner Mike to suicide. His new solo album isn't selling but then neither is anything else he did with Mike. He stays at his friends the Gorfeins but the cat gets locked out. Then he visits his friends Jim (Justin Timberlake) and Jean (Carey Mulligan). She tells him that she's pregnant possibly by him. And Llewyn's life keeps drifting on.

Brother filmmakers Ethan and Joel Coen have brought something different with this original character in this unique era. It's beautifully filmed as usual. Oscar Isaac is a newcomer and an unknown. He fits this character very well. He has a drifter musician quality to him. Carey Mulligan takes a hilarious turn with her angry performance. The movie has a mellow and rambling vibe. It also has its big moments. The music is awright but nothing exciting. It's a man slowly drifting in the world as his musical career tries to stay afloat.

The Coen's sometimes make small films. They have a frame of reference that others don't. This is the story of a man. If you don't like him, that's not a problem. He is a folk singer. He is doing his thing in a time when that genre was in great demand. But he is also a self-centered, living-day-to-day jerk who leaves messes in his wake. He wants to work, but has a disdainful view of his own accomplishments. He treats people who do kindnesses for him with the same disdain that he uses on strangers. He does nothing to ingratiate himself with the people who could help him. We don't know where he is going and neither does he. He ends up hooking a ride to Chicago with a taciturn driver known only as Johnny-5. In the back is the scene stealing John Goodman. The ten or so minutes in that car are some of the very best. Goodman taunts and pokes (literally, using a cane) Llewyn, calling him Elwyn. He is absolutely brutal and yet hilarious. When Llewyn arrives in Chicago, he has a brief audition with a producer played by F. Murray Abraham, who basically tells him he's okay, but he isn't hearing any money coming from him. This leads to more sidetracking of the old career, landing on more couches, trying to get back into the Merchant Marine, and more failed efforts. I think if those who are so disdainful of this film were to look at it more closely, there is a black humor that really works. The Coens are known for that. If you think that this is a picaresque offering where the main character learns his lesson, you aren't going to get that. Remember the scene in "Fargo" where the guy is putting the leg in the wood chipper and is scolded by Francis McDormand. He didn't learn anything either.