"Folk" and "working class" aren't synonymous terms: Llewyn has no connection with the source of the music he (thinks he)'s imitating, not the least of which because he prizes the individual Artist (himself, natch) and individual commercial success rather than the communal wellspring that defines folk music as such.…

Have you ever seen the original trailer for Barton Fink? I rewatched it this morning, and it's hi-larious: they effectively give away what's inside the box by cutting to it every time someone says the word "head". Amazing!

I'd expect, too, that some of the character's more recent popularity (particularly among more casual comics readers or pop culture consumers) might be connected to the Marvel video games. You'd have these overstuffed games where all the other characters had a handful of stock phrases they'd spit out every now and…

Doubly interesting since, to continue The Odyssey allegory: there's no Telemachus to find him, he's lost his Penelope, and in the most heartbreaking scene, his own father doesn't recognize him. So where the last few books of The Odyssey are all about other characters recognizing the hero, Llewyn meets the end of the…

I don't completely disagree with that, but I think there's a reason the Coens present her as they do, unsophisticated (i.e. not urbane), the only person playing the "real" thing in a film where Llewyn is constantly getting stomachaches about selling out. It's his failure to see her and her art for what they are that…

Not sure I understand "authentic" here (which is something the Coens play around with a lot): Llewyn's music may be good, but he's snobbish to the point that he fails to recognize the real thing - his mockery of the actual folk singer is, in some ways, a larger commentary on how "Folk Music" isn't really folk music,…

Yeah, that's definitely how I read the Dylan scene, as well. I don't know if I saw the "Au revoir" scene as an epiphany as much as Llewyn reverting to self-pity again, but I haven't seen the movie in a while.

Do you think Llewyn has an epiphany? I thought one of the interesting things about the character is that the film keeps giving him the opportunity for one, and he keeps flubbing it, refusing to grow or learn anything along the way. He's an artist so dedicated to his belief in himself and his craft that he refuses to…

For any other filmmakers I think it'd be their best film. It only gets lost in the shuffle because the Coens have made so many goddamned great movies.

Possibly, but No Country is more closely tied to Fargo by virtue of structure, character, and theme: both have their law enforcement protagonists enter a third of the way into the film, attempt to unravel a crime, and eventually shaken by the level of evil they encounter, after which they reach back to family for…

I agree they do keep making the same film twice, but I'm not so sure I agree 100% on your police work there, Lou. I guess you could pair them up chronologically/thematically the way you do (though I think the argument's a little thin in spots?), but it seems they want us to view some of these films as pairs to their…

Seriously. And there was no malice when he said it - I think he was genuinely delighted to get the invite. But still…

Yeah, I'm trying not to let its glut of awards color my impression of the film, which I thought was alright but deeply flawed. Every time it picks up a statue it just makes those flaws that much more glaring to me.

Not really, though. Yes, he delivered that line like a joke, but his whole speech was about positioning Scott as overdue and underappreciated for his efficiency and no-nonsense craft: how he didn't need on-set drama or intense feats to deliver a great experience. It was the crux of his argument, and it was clearly…

I think this might be you, though. I saw Boyhood three times in the theater and was riveted every time; no real interest in revisiting Birdman. I agree the latter's gotten some unfair backlash for having won the Oscar, but I don't think it's a particularly exceptional movie, either (it wouldn't have been in my top ten…

Speaking of "in the buff", have you seen the recent set photos from Taboo? If not… er, are you sitting down?

And if you really want your heart to break: during his speech, Miller thanked the DGA and said he was really impressed with their awards ceremony. He'd never been invited before.

Fassbender is the only of those performances I saw and thought, yeah, he'd deserve this if he won it (and I didn't particularly like the movie). Otherwise it was a pretty uninspiring year for male leads.

I'm actually less angry at the possibility of him winning the Oscar (the Academy voters involve a lot of deeply stupid people) than at the fact he won the DGA, where you'd expect his peers might recognize the difference between pretty good directorial work inflated by a huge behind-the-scenes story (it was so haaaard,…

Glad you liked it! I've been reading a bunch of reviews to try and help sort out the movie's thematic threads, but it's been frustrating - so many critics are dismissing it as superficial fluff. Ugh. I sincerely think this one is going to be subject of a bunch of "in retrospect, this is great" thinkpieces a few years…