Joel and Ethan, I want my money back

Rating: 1/10 (8 April 2014)

It is hard to believe the same guys who made "No Country for Old Men" and "Fargo," and several other of the greatest things to touch celluloid could be responsible for this. They should be at the height of their abilities, not misfiring so badly.
This is a movie about a jerk, and not in the Steve Martin sense. Davis isn't an anti-hero who does things you secretly wish you could do or has some justification that allows you to understand--if not sympathize--with his behavior. He does not remind you of your quirky friend or relative that is hard to take sometimes but has qualities that make his company tolerable. No, Davis is someone you want to see beat down in the hardest possible way. When you learn early in the film that Davis's partner offed himself, I started to think: I don't blame him. I would too if I had to spend time with this guy. Then I remembered I had paid for the privilege of doing so. At least I enjoyed my popcorn.
Movies where there is no compelling plot are called "character studies." This isn't even that. It is like "Men Behaving Badly," that goes on too long. Davis's performances and music are not even the best in the film, so you can't call him brilliant but flawed. Just moderately talented but unlikable.
90% of the screenplay consists of the words f**k, s**t, and a**h*l*. I'm not a prude about foul language, but its just lazy writing if this is the meat of your dialog rather than the spice.
What makes it worse is that the early 60's folk scene is such an interesting time with incredible characters and stories. Why didn't they make a film about Mulligan's character? That might have been worth watching.