Film Reviews by LG

The Coen Broothers get me in a weird place - possibly that is their mission - love much of their work but this one flew by me - I am aware of their style/approaches to acting/cinematography/narrative etc but mmmmmmmmmmmmm ddn't get this one at all................it felt forced, found I was drifting - found the characterisation shallow and too boldly underlined, like there was too much in house self congratulation going on - 'this is a misfit folk singer down on his luck, ha ha ha' 'this is an angry lay ha ha ha' 'this is the angry lay's smarmy boyfriend who has it all ha ha ha' - can work, in a Brechtian kind of way, but in this case, for me, it really didn't - found the cyclical narrative lazy - found the plot reductive - really irritating the way Llewyn Davis does the same exclamation each time the cat escapes - I may well be missing something really important here but then, I was bored during 'The Big Lebowski' too................

Hannah Rothschild does an incredible job here of a 'hunt the roots of the family myth' documentary. She is a warm and engaging narrator/interviewer and her quest is believable. A compassionate and riveting story of two people (Thelonius Monk and Pannonica Rothschild) from opposite ends of the social spectrum recognising deep common ground in each other and becoming life companions. Nica (Pannonica Rothschild) was utterly committed to living her life in as different way as she could to family expectations (ok she had the money to back it but.........................she still did it - her way !) - great interviews with Thelonius Monk's band members and his son and the Rothschild family too (much grief there) ..................one of those films that you don't want to end............