Egocentricity Causes Self Destruction

Rating: 8/10 (13 December 2013)

I was very excited to have the opportunity to screen this film before release. I have been a strong fan of the Coen Brothers body of work since Raising Arizona was released in 1987. This film was a gritty, realistic view of an egocentric artist who was hell bent on success through self destructive actions that were about to shatter his musical dream and force him onto a different career path. As in many young men whose ego writes checks that are too large to be cashed, Llewyn Davis created his own self destruction. The film lacks the charm or brilliant cartoon quality of Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou? or Fargo. It is an expertly made film that realistically depicts a gritty musical scene in a time just before immense change. The portrayal of a young Bob Dylan like performer foretold starkly the impeding changes. I give it an 8