MovieChat Forums > Inside Llewyn Davis (2014) Discussion > It was boring. Why no one* admits that?

It was boring. Why no one* admits that?

posted 11 years ago by zee944
140 replies | jump to latest

Don't get me wrong, I love the Coens. I've seen almost all of their movies and I like most of them. Even the less good ones are still 6/10 in my book. But I don't understand why this one is praised so much. High user rating and extremely high critics rating. I'd give it a 5/10.

Of course it's not bad in any sense. Coens can't do a honestly bad movie. The dialogues, the characters are O.K., good acting, nicely filmed etc., etc., I just don't know what to enjoy in this one. Little of Coen's black humour, little of funny situations, no tension, and the story is uninteresting.

"Why no one admits that?" --> this question wasn't meant for everybody. I'm sure half of the praisers are actually enjoyed it for whatever reason, but I'm also sure there's another half who didn't and acts like they did because it's the Coens and they look smarter enjoying an "art" movie.

*EDIT 2015.12.26.: English is not my first language. Incorrect word "noone" was fixed. It confused some people who didn't understand the point, and kept pointing it out for almost two years.

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] CaptainTerrific 10 years ago

I'd have to disagree. I've seen a little less than half their films, I guess, and ILD is the only one I really like. Most of the others I've seen were just somewhat visually interesting or a bit of dark comedy, but ILD stayed with me and had me thinking about it long after I first watched it.

What I enjoyed in this one is that I'm drawn to characters who are down at the beginning and keep getting beaten down further along the way. At nearly every step he took, when things were looking up, they took a nasty turn, like Fate was just messing with him for a little sick fun.

Probably my favorite scene is when he decides to go back in the merchant marines, pays his past dues, can't find his license, and can't get his money back. As soon as the union man said, "You have your license, right?", I knew that he wasn't going to be able to find it and he was going to lose that money.

It's not a matter of deriving pleasure from someone else's suffering, it's more a matter of seeing someone who's got it worse than you that makes your own misery a little easier to bear.

[–] dfliles 10 years ago

Watch it again. Look at the first scene and the last scene. Notice when fades are used in the edit. Think about the name of the cat. Also note what the lady on the phone says when he is trying to return the cat. Pay atention to the year the film is set and the date on the cinema poster he looks at.

[–] CaptainTerrific 10 years ago

Thanks. I'll see if I can track down those two scenes online and rewatch them. I don't own the movie and can't stream it, so I'll do a little digging.

The cat's name is Ulysses, and I know the Coen's love mythological themes and references. What she says on the phone and the dates...I'll have to figure that out.

Of course, if you want to wrap what you're thinking in a spoiler block, I wouldn't complain. 

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] jjmn 10 years ago

Because it wasn't.

[–] Don_Cheech 10 years ago

yeah I thoroughly enjoyed it.. & I am quick to say a movie sucks.

- the music is good.
- it seemed to successfully capture the mood of the era.
- interesting characters.
- Coen brothers mysticism
- Disturbing and hilarious scenes.. only separated by a few minutes.

I wouldnt even call this an art movie. Someone called it "a road movie" and I kind of get that vibe. but.. in reality.. its just a coen brothers film. They almost have their own genre at this point.

an art movie is something like "The Tree of Life".

this film contains great writing, diverting it from that label.

Im suprised this didnt a few oscars. I was reluctant to watch it, but now i put it right up there with my top 50... easily.

[–] pgrdenic 10 years ago

You know the sayng; "Different strokes for different folks"?

It wasn't boring at all, I myself found it brilliant and enjoyed its atmosphere. One of the better films I've seen in a while. Perhaps you (a person who thinks this is a boring film) don't enjoy this type of storytelling, this moodpiece.

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] dtgutman 10 years ago

Because it simply wasn't true for many of us. I found it gorgeous to watch and captivating all the way through. The acting was uniformly stellar, and Oscar Isaac was introduced to me as an exciting new acting (and musical) talent. I am familiar with the difficult guitar picking style he mastered for the role and was impressed by that as well. There was poetry and poignancy in the dialog as well. The Coens shot a beautiful film as well, and T Bone Burnett came up with a fabulous score. To my husband and I this was the most underrated film of the last few years. We were disappointed that the Coens and Isaac didn't take home Oscars. I think that many mistook this movie for something else - we heard a lot of people calling it the "movie about the guy and his cat." What?! I also think people didn't have a lot of sympathy for the young, impetuous, and quick-to-anger protagonist. But he was never meant to be an altruistic, perfect person. We watched his character grow in the film as he dealt very imperfectly and realistically with several setbacks and personal tragedies. But boring? Not by a long shot.

[–] dtgutman 10 years ago

Because it simply wasn't true for many of us. I found it gorgeous to watch and captivating all the way through. The acting was uniformly stellar, and Oscar Isaac was introduced to me as an exciting new acting (and musical) talent. There was poetry and poignancy in the dialog. The Coens shot a beautiful film as well, and T Bone Burnett came up with a fabulous score. I am also familiar with the difficult guitar picking style Isaac mastered for the role and was impressed by that. To my husband and I this was the most underrated film of the last few years. We were disappointed that the Coens and Isaac didn't take home Oscars.

I think that many mistook this movie for something else - we heard a lot of people calling it the "movie about the guy and his cat." What?! I also think people didn't have a lot of sympathy for the young, impetuous, and quick-to-anger protagonist. But he was never meant to be an altruistic, perfect person. We watched his character grow in the film as he dealt very imperfectly and realistically with several setbacks and personal tragedies. But boring? Not by a long shot.