Profoundly Disappointing

Rating: 5/10 (15 January 2014)

The Greenwich Village music scene in the early '60's, by identity a folk revival but really a confluence of so many things; e.g., youthful angst, atomic fears, academia, neo-beat, etc., was full of vitality and greatly influenced the anti-war movement, not to mention the hippie era and the evolution of folk rock. ILD is sadly lacking in anything informing or uplifting and instead offers us a melancholy, older and less articulate Holden Caufield. There are several scenes in the film showing the title character performing well but show me just thirty seconds where Llewyn is depicted as loving - or even liking - music itself. Rather, Llewyn is totally self-absorbed when not pre-occupied with finding a couch to sleep on. One gets the feeling that LD would grab any diversion available and folk music just happens to be the one that is there. The "cat" subplot is not only pointless but thoroughly annoying. The talented Cohen brothers are in a funk and throwing up (pun intended) well crafted junk. Forget the accolades for ILD. It's mediocre stuff. PS / Dave Van Ronk, allegedly a loose model for the ILD mainc haracter, was an exceptional guitarist; e.g., performing such Scot Joplin instrumentals as THE ENTERTAINER and MAPLE LEAF RAG. The guitar playing in ILD is given zero reverence and I'm sure it was T-Bone Burnett's idea to have the professor friend own a Sears Silvertone to contrast the Martins and Gibsons.