This is just, like, my opinion, man

Rating: 9/10 (10 January 2020)

At first glance, The Big Lebowski appears to be a film about a man seeking compensation for a soiled rug. For that reason, I delayed watching it for years, anticipating that it would be difficult viewing.
In actuality, The Big Lebowski is a pleasure to watch. This is largely because it allows the audience to inhabit the headspace of the Dude, who moves through life unperturbed by external events and material losses. In seeing the world from the Dude's perspective, the viewer is encouraged to avoid getting caught up in the frustrations of daily life and instead cultivate inner contentment, or at least a more laid back attitude. In some ways, the film is disorienting because of the many repetitions in dialogue and setting. I believe this is a conscious choice by the Coens, intended to bring the audience further into alignment with the Dude by emulating the echoes and flashbacks that would be rife in the mind of a 48 year old stoner.
Some critics suggest that in seeking compensation for his rug, the Dude is expressing a latent desire for order and meaning. I disagree with this interpretation. The Dude's uncharacteristic attachment to the rug is what embroils him in a string of calamitous events that test his equanimity. In my view, this is intended to convey that suffering is caused by attachment to material objects. The Coen brothers have rejected the notion that the film is conveying any particular message, so there is no definitive answer here.
This film inspired me to try my first White Russian (or as it is jokingly called in the film, a Caucasian) the following day. Unfortunately, I had an allergic reaction to the beverage and fainted in my driveway before being taken to hospital. I will therefore always have a strong sense memory associated with The Big Lebowski.
MVP: Jeff Bridges as pyjamaed hero.
MVQ: "Smokey this is not 'Nam, this is bowling. There are rules"