If you thought Llewyn Davis was a bad person and lazy, please explain.

Some people seem to think he's a shïtheel, that's true, but they seem content to draw this conclusion on the basis of his behaviour during this brief, "difficult period" (as you said) and on the word of others, specifically Mulligan's character.

I think a lot of folks simply don't understand how soul-crushing it can be to spend your life doing something you love, having to struggle to get respect on a daily basis, having to live hand-to-mouth for years at a time because your gifts and strengths and integrity aren't necessarily enough to sustain a living.

Throw in the death of a close friend, cold weather, a young lady desperate to have your abortion, the feeling of being a burden to friends and family -- yeah, I'm willing to grant him his (admittedly shameful) outburst towards the lady who performs near the end.

I know I wouldn't want to be judged on the basis of the worst week of my life.

At the film's conclusion, it's pretty clear that Llewyn has two choices: (a) give it up and take a "square job" (which he'd perceive as being a betrayal and an acceptance of a life filled with a different kind of misery) or (b) continue to toil in obscurity on the infinitesimal chance that he'll "break through" -- thus living the same few days, with some variation, over and over for the rest of his life.

Given what we know about his character, he'll almost certainly opt for (b), which is almost as tragic as (a) in its own way.

(1) He was a jerk to the lady on stage.
(2) He was a jerk to the Gorfeins and their guests.
(3) He took advantage of his friend's hospitality to sleep with his friend's wife.
(4) He abandoned the cat in the car.
(5) He abandoned a man, unconcious with a heroin overdose, possibly to die in a cold car by the side of a road in a snowstorm.
(6) He has a pattern of knocking women up, throwing money at abortion doctors to make it go away, and not even accompanying the woman to the abortion doctor to make sure she is okay. And he evidently intends to repeat his mistake with Jean.
(7) Even after he learns, 2 years later, that the woman he knocked up 2 years before had born his son, he turns down an opportunity to go visit her.
(8) He puts down his working-class sister with elitist rhetoric; thumbs his nose at her when she tries to help him; and finally curses her out for doing exactly what he told her to do.
(9) He is a rude jerk to the straight-laced army musician.

That's just off the top of my head. It's a while since I saw the film.

It's the struggles of being a musician. If you are good, a complex can start to grow in you subconsciously. You feel like people owe you something or that you deserve something. It's a crazy world trying to "make it" as a musician. The ups are great but the lows are incredibly tough and seem to keep getting worse the longer you go without "making it". All of that is no reason to act like an *beep* but it just happens with a lot of musician types. Average person would not take sympathy on him but being that I have gone thru similar feelings I can kind of understand and feel bad for him. It's all mental. You really want to be a good person and might even be convinced that you are, but the jade of it all will get you. I don't think he was being a dick intentionally he was just reacting to his shaky life.

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sleeping with his friend's girlfriend did it for me.

Llewyn Davis was a good person. The movie shows a time in his life where he is spinning out of control. His partner's death was incredibly painful for him and it changed him. He was putting one foot in front of the other, trying to reach his goal. When Jean demanded the abortion money, he made the commerical record to get the money for her. It killed him to compromise his artistic standards, but he did it. He was counting every penny, ciphering out how much every bite of food would cost him.

He liked his groupie friends on the Upper West Side. But, it was hard for him to be around them. They reminded him of his best friend and partner. It was painful for him. His sister was married and content. She couldn't have cared less about him. His father was ill. His mother was dead. He had no one.

Saw this movie multiple times. First viewing, had no sympathy for LD. But when I watched this film a second time, I felt intensely sorry for the main character and will confess that I shed tears for him. Part of the genius of the Coen Brothers lies in creating enigmatic characters.

Having lived a portion of that life for a few years, I was with LD the entire time...until he left the cat in the car. He could at least have let the cat to fend for itself.

The other stuff...meh, it's part of living. I am especially understanding of his reaction when Mrs. Gorfein starts singing the harmony line. When you're with someone for a long time, and that's who you're used to hearing over your shoulder and in your ear, and they exit under unfavorable circumstances, it can be incredibly hard to bear. Realistically, he probably wouldn't have even done the song, but then we wouldn't have had that emotional moment.

As to being lazy...being a working musician is pretty hard, physically and mentally, especially when you're not famous, because you have to scare up your own shows, schlep your own gear, find your own sleeping arrangements, collect your own fees, etc. He was a least helped a bit in that he wasn't packing multiple instruments and a PA and other gear, but it's still very difficult. I would in no way consider LD lazy.