Coen Bros, not Disney

Rating: 9/10 (27 August 2015)

Much of this extraordinary and technically perfect film is about subtext, glances, gestures, and throwaway dialog which (like the main character's box of keepsakes) is not really meant to be thrown away.
One example of many, near the end Llewyn passes a threatre marquee for a Disney film and pauses to consider it. I don't claim to have mastered all the nuances -- only seen this once so far -- but the contrast could not be starker.
This is not a Disney film about winners. This is about losing, but doing so against one of the iconic backdrops in American history.
The sets are almost perfect. You almost believe you are in a time machine. The only error I could find (because I started to really look) was a scene under an overpass. The construction of the footings was square, a design that was not used back in the day.
Loved the cameo by John Goodman. Unforgettable. Loved the way the cat became Llewlyn's "spirit animal" - almost.
The biggest treat is an almost unrecognizable Carey Mulligan who at the same moment, manages to come across as tough, hardened, petite, larger than life, crass, sweet, naive, cunning, sexy, powerless and powerful.
Wow.