There were 27 feedback response slips returned after the showing of this film. The breakdown from these slips were as follows: Rating: 
- ‘Excellent’: 9 votes
- ‘Very Good’: 15 votes
- ‘Good’: 3 votes
- ‘Satisfactory’: 0 votes
- ‘Poor’: 0 votes
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I thought it was a well made film with excellent acting. Love John Goodman’s performance. Good music to accompany the film as well. I suppose we are expected to show some sympathy for Lewis and the importance of music for the inner man and his emotional wellbeing.Should he persue his dream? However the downside is that his dream is everyone else’s nightmare. Endearing as he might be as an occasional drop-in he is essentially a ‘shit’ as Jean comments. Someone else pays for his dream , two pregnancies at least. Perhaps the Coen Brothers wanted us to consider this side as well. However Lewis was too clean-cut figuratively as well as literally despite the two angry outbursts.
– The film was inspired by Dave van Ronk’s memoirs, “The Mayor of MacDougal Street”.
– Although Llewyn Davis is a fictional character, not based on the true life of van Ronk, the songs performed by Davis were all part of his repertoire, and the LP cover of “Inside Llewyn Davis” is a mock up of the album “Inside Dave van Ronk” (released 1963). Incidentally, Oscar Isaac performs the songs in his own style and does not attempt to emulate van Ronk’s singing, nor his guitar playing technique.
– When Llewyn checks out his and Mike’s album “If We Had Wings”, the biography under Mike Timlin’s name is actually that of Dave van Ronk.
– The cover of “Inside Dave van Roth” has a cat in the doorway by van Ronk’s feet, however, the Coen Brothers claim not to have noticed this until after shooting had finished and the cat was pointed out to them by an art director during post-production.
– There really was a duo called “Jim and Jean” performing in Greenwich Village in 1962, Jim Glover and Jean Ray. Glover introduced Phil Ochs to folk music and Jean Ray was the inspiration behind Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl”.
Troy Nelson’s character is based on Tom Paxton, who served in the army before beginning his career in Greenwich Village. On stage, Troy performs Paxton’s “The Last Thing on my Mind”.
(Trivia source: IMDB)
Not having seen the film before, but aware of its popularity with the critics and the amount of screenings it got, I thought it was even better than I expected. The cinematography was extremely ‘handsome’, the characters always engaging and interesting. The Coen’s are so clever at introducing their characteristic tropes: the Jewish academic, the sinister dark man delivering a nemesis, the enigmatic driver of the aging jazz man. But I agree with Maurice: when Llewyn lost his temper it seemed so out of character. If only he could have picked up an electric guitar to do his last song at the folk club! Ah, Dyaln would have missed the boat and history……?