Inside Llewyn Davis – 6.5

It’s hard to be excited about a movie, however well-made, about such a loser. He looks depressing to begin with, his songs are depressing, and he constantly makes bad decisions – starting with taking his host’s escaped cat downtown on the subway instead of negotiating with the building’s super to keep the cat or let him back in the apartment. You know, before it happens, that everything he tries will turn out badly – so who wants to watch this? Not coincidentally, the best musical moment is a PP&M-style “500 Miles,” when Llewyn – even the name sounds like “loser” – is in the audience. The movie is so dirge-like I mistakenly thought it was filmed in black-and-white. And why did the movie open with one of the chronologically last scenes? The Coens can, deservedly, get away with anything; but, like Woody Allen, it’s too bad the results are so erratic.