The producers of “Seinfeld” had something of a mantra to work with on the show, “No hugging, No learning”, so that their characters would have nothing as trite as the usual developments episode by episode, if You wanted that, You could find it in countless other places and it’s good to have the Coens flying that same banner for the big screen.

It takes brass balls to have your hipster odyssey carried on the shoulders of a truly obnoxious fuck of a protagonist, bringing to mind Barton Fink in the “Hard to root for” stakes. Shagging his mate’s girlfriend (Carey Mulligan- what is it about her face? She constantly has this smile like everything is a giant inside joke…..) and possibly getting her knocked up, going to said pal (Justin Timberkake……underused, who’d have thought?) to borrow money for the abortion, being a general blight on most people who drop a bollock by giving him a sofa on which to crash and then there are his songs……….

Beautifully put together, played, sang, but as one record producer mentions after hearing him play a song about a woman dying during labour……there’s little money in it. The fact that Oscar Isaac ( Mulligan’s jailbird beau in “Drive”, fact fans) plays an absolute blinder in the title roll of a man without a country, ethos, journey to call his own and does it without grandstanding speaks volumes. Everyone around him seems to be on their own path, with jazz legends, folk legends, beat poets and house cats all on their own “Incredible Journey” and our man just a bemused spectator wondering when his time will come.

At a lean old running time of 110 minutes, it’s almost rushed, it’s hard to imagine people having “Inside Llewyn Davis” theme parties anytime soon, it’s not endlessly quotable like some of their work, quite stripped down, a more mature and sombre affair from the brothers Coen. At this point in their career, I can find some peace with that.

“SERENITY NOW”
4.5 POPS HEADS

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