One of cinema’s finest writer / director combinations, Joel and Ethan Coen are back with Inside Llewyn Davis. A sombre and humbling film that follows Llewyn Davis, a young folk singer, through the Greenwich Village folk music scene in the early 1960s.
Make no mistake about it, this film, while enchanting is not something that will lift your spirits. Its bleak and miserable at the best of times but at the same time its quite compelling and visually its also bleak, but beautifully shot. A movie that deals with suicide, abortion and constant failure, not to mention a lost cat, will not be for everybody. Even some movie connoisseurs may find this a tough watch. Its hard to convey the misery that you’ll experience here, but at the same time, on a regular basis, a wonderful soundtrack with a number of “live” performances by Davis bring a welcome break from the bleakness.
Oscar Isaac takes on the role of Llewyn Davis and is altogether convincing and heart warming. Isaac is completely absorbed by the role and its an incredibly organic performance. The same can be said of the supporting cast which include Carey Mulligan, Ethan Phillips and John Goodman. Like Isaac, all are very convincing and Goodman adds a welcome, albeit light hearted break from the misery. Justin Timberlake just seems to play Justin Timberlake and while theres nothing wrong with that, he doesn’t have enough screen time to get any traction going, so its like a glorified cameo more than anything else. Which is a shame as Trousersnake is a fairly accomplished actor.
While enchanting in places, Inside Llewyn Davis lacks the zing that past Coen Brothers movies have delivered in big doses and it will certainly disappoint alot of people. Its not a bad movie, but with most cinema audiences dealing with their own misery over the last few years, the last thing they want is 110 minutes of non stop misery where the lead character doesn’t even crack a smile. For die hard folk fans this will certainly be right up your alley. But for everybody else, this is being sold on the Coen name and is ultimately miserable and disappointing. That said it does have a certain charm about it, but you really have to stick with it and I reckon most people wont.
