Incredibly dull, strained script, difficult acting, many pointless scenes.

Rating: 3/10 (28 October 2015)

This film plods along and has nothing other than a mundane message to offer: people try and sometimes lose. The main character is fundamentally uninteresting and has nothing to say and presents no unique perspective on anything. He is presented as being painfully irritable, and the effect is painfully irritating. The story goes nowhere; it stays exactly the same from the first to last frame. The best part of the movie -- the only bright spot -- is Carey Mulligan, who is excellent in her role. She is the lone interesting character with any viewpoint or personality to express, and the only saving grace for this drawn out mess. Mulligan gives a complicated, energetic and trenchant performance and deserves major credit for making this marginally watchable. The Coen brothers, however, are taking a nap on this one. The worst parts are the pointless, stilted and unconvincing musical performances (five or six full songs?) by the main character. This was done to fill (waste) time? This movie needed a full re-conceptualization and a major re-write before filming began. The actors do their best with a meandering, shallow script. Washed out, almost mono- or duo-chrome visuals, watered down storytelling, and diluted speaking parts; this is a wash out on many levels. Some good performances, some good cinematography and interesting shots, but in total a waste of time. No offense intended, but I imagine only very bored or very pretentious and easily impressionable viewers would find this valuable or interesting in any way.