Interesting film

Rating: 7/10 (31 January 2014)

This wasn't a great film, but interesting enough. It's quite refreshing to focus on someone who doesn't triumph against the odds, someone who continually fails both as a person and in his career. In the end Llewyn doesn't come out of it looking wonderful; in fact the film gradually displays all his faults. And he doesn't appear to have many good points. He 'takes' a lot from others and doesn't give much in return. It's a light comedy in which we follow one week in his bumbling journey through life. The New York and Chicago weather is terrible, as if mirroring his bleak existence. I personally didn't love the folk music portrayed here. It seemed a bit bland to me, but it did seem to reflect the sort of songs that were never going to reach the heights of, say, Dylan's, but obviously attracted a solid local audience in their day. On the surface, the film says that maybe if Llewyn was a stronger character, went out and sought work and took notice of good advice and didn't miss so many opportunities, he could have made some kind of living and rent his own place. But was it just that he had bad luck? A bad agent? Friends and family that weren't supportive and encouraging? How much is a man's life his own effort, and how much is luck, seems to be a theme of the film.