Inside Llewyn Davis

Currently I am nestled up in my overly comfortable housecoat and slippers, drinking my morning coffee, and listening to the music from the Coen brothers latest movie, Inside Llewyn Davis.  The movie is set in the early sixties and centres around the folk scene in New York city, following artist Llewyn Davis as he struggles to do more on this earth than simply exist.  Davis (Oscar Isaac) is a very complex character, as he is nothing but committed and passionate about the music he makes and performs but is also able to sabotage almost every relationship he has.  He is not the charming hero that we are used to rooting for in an underdog story, but a very authentic person and perpetual couch surfer who is very weary and tired from the outcomes of the life he has chosen to live.

The movie is ensconced in an atmosphere of the folk music bar, and the opening scene delivers us a full length song performed by Oscar Isaac in a dark and smoky night club, in a way that allows us to feel as though we are in attendance.  The darkness of the theatre blends in with the borders of the scene, creating a real sense of sharing time and space in a touching and magical way.  From there the colours of the film are drab, dull, and lacking life.  This fits well with both the drab colours of the folk music club, and the overall emotion of the film which is of a person who is extremely tired and worn in a battle to fight the separation of music as an art form and music as a career.

While each of the Coen brother’s movies has a different taste to it, I found myself reminiscing of O Brother, Where Art Thou as music is such a centric theme to both films.  As well, there is also the theme of the journey and the destination in both films.  They are both period pieces, with Iside Llewyn Davis being much darker than the very lively O Brother, Where Art Thou, but I could not help but feel there was a deep connection between the two films that runs deeper than the music.

On the topic of music, there is such heart and passion resonating from the songs and performances in this film.  Much like music in a Christopher Guest mockumentary, the actors themselves are the ones who arrange and perform the songs they play.  You could watch this movie and gain respect for the acting talent like Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan, but they push the realm of their abilities with soulful performances in music.  The movie gives so much voice to the songs, with most of them being played from start to finish.  I lost count of how many full length songs were in the film, but they are of such a high quality that their presence enhances the tone.  The songs really set the emotion for the film, but like a typical Coen brothers movie, there is always some quirk inserted from time to time, and even the music in the film is not safe from the reaches of absurdity.  There is one song in particular that had me laughing uncontrollably for its whole duration, and if you have seen the movie you probably know exactly which one I am talking about.

While it is a movie that contains a great deal of heart and emotion, it is not all positive.  As I mentioned, Llewyn Davis is able to make people quite mad at him and he faces ongoing personal tragedy and obstacles which exacerbates his faults.  While he views himself as someone who is the victim of life dealing out cruel circumstances, he is oblivious of the fact that his own actions are the cause of much of his suffering.  Within all of this turmoil we still have the bizarre nature of the Cohen brothers movies that brings some humour to the film so it never becomes too dark.  John Goodman brings his A-game in this film with a small roll that is entirely over the top in the most delightful ways.

Not many people may know Oscar Isaac’s name at this point, but this film is one that is capable of changing the entire trajectory of his career.  Soon people will be forgetting altogether that he was in Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch.  The very talented Carey Mulligan (who acted with Isaac in Drive) brings an almost Juliette Lewis style snappiness and spite to her performance, which is full of captivating hatred for Llewyn.  While some people may rag on Justin Timberlake when it comes to his acting, but I have not been one to see much fault in his performances, not that I am saying he is a top tier actor at the moment, but he is steadily improving.  His performance in Inside Llewyn Davis was very fun and added a nice visual opposite to Llewyn.  If there is one thing people need to know about Timberlake is that he is willing to have fun with his roles and is not victim to taking himself too seriously, which leads to a fun role in this film.

If you were wondering about Llewyn’s name and the spelling of it, it is because he is Welsh.  As a feller of Welsh decent myself, I have found that it is a heritage that brings about jokes and mockery at times.  I was very happy to see in this movie John Goodman’s response to finding the origins of his travelling companion kept true to what I have seen.  It was a nice touch, I thought.

This is a very beautiful, both visually and audibly, movie.  I have mentioned the aspect of a journey, which is both physical and metaphorical for Davis.  As he questions his commitment to music and his life choices, it is a process that he goes on, through much negativity that brings him to his destination.  His journey in the film is mirrored by that of a cat, who gains a second chance, opening the eyes of Davis to that aspect in his own life.  Does this mean he’s learned anything?  Nope, I don’t think so.  He is a very fallible character with his head stuck up in his own ass for so much of it that I doubt he learned anything that would change his course, but more that he was just destined to live a very cyclical life that never ends up going anywhere.

Rating – 4 out of 4 stars