Inside Llewyn Davis

I am so glad that I had the opportunity to see one of my most anticipated films of the year in an early screening at Lisbon and Estoril Film Festival. I really admire the Coen Brothers work and I couldn't wait to see it. When I heard that Inside Llewyn Davis was opening the Festival I ran to the ticket offices to buy my ticket.

Inside Llewyn Davis left me full of different emotions throughout the story. I was happy, I was sad, I was frustrated, I was moved, it broked my heart but also made me laugh hard sometimes! I almost can't explain exactly how much I loved it.

Llewyn Davis is a frustrated folk singer, he can't succeed in his career and nobody seems to care about him and his love for what he does. He tries not to be a loser but life complicates his path. Looks like failure is meant to be always present in his life.

Oscar Isaac has a terrific performance and omg that man can sing! He fills your heart with his voice. All of the scenes where he sings are just perfect, so so beautiful. The cinematography turns everything into something gorgeous to look at, especially the scenes where Isaac sings. It's almost like he were singing just for you.
The supporting performances are very strong, particularly Carey Mulligan, a fantastic actress that never disappoints and the great Jonh Goodman that shines, as always, in all the scenes where he is at. He has the most funny role in the film. The dialogues between his character and Llewyn are just hilarious.
The folk soundtrack is just excellent, I loved all of the songs.

Inside Llewyn Davis is a film about music and a music career but above all is a film about a man and his complexities.

Thank you Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for another fantastic piece of cinema and for all the emotions you provided me.

The Coen Brothers are up there with the best american directors ever, and they make it clear at every single movie they make.

If you love the 60's watch this movie. If you love Dave Van Ronk watch this movie. If you love music watch this movie. If you love cinema watch this movie. I mean, just watch (and listen to) this movie.

And thank you Joel and Ethan to make Dave Van Ronk known to a greater audience.

We all know a Llweyn Davis. We've all been Llweyn Davis. This is a film that, though absolutely more than stellar in other respects, lives and breathes on the characterization and performance of its lead. The story is immaculately crafted, chronicling a loop of tragic mediocrity. There's some beautiful camerawork, particularly during the final song that perfectly conveys Llweyn's woeful goodbye. Other cast members like the perfectly obnoxious Goodman, the scene stealing Driver, and especially Carey Mulligan as Jean in a performance that could carry its own movie, do a wonderful job. But without a thoughtful and well-sketched portrait of a character and the acting to fill it, the film would fall apart. Luckily, the film has those in spades.

Oscar Isaacs is enthralling. The long looks of ennui out the car window as the weight of toiling in the same circle settles in. The crack in his voice as he thanks his truest yet most vitriolic friend for trying to give him one more shot. The exhaustion, the grief, the bitterness towards others and himself. I've felt all of those things, and Isaacs reflected them back at me. He's charming and earnest enough to help you understand why people keep letting him in, and obnoxious and misanthropic enough to feel just as furious as they do. He'll snap and lash out and feel genuinely awful about it, he will own it. But he will not and cannot change; next week he'll do it all again. He'll always be back where he started. It's so easy to go inside Llewyn Davis because we've all been him, and I wouldn't mind going inside this film again.

Probably the most subtle Coen brothers script, even a lot of the humour is understated.
It’s a very effective portrait showing why true artists are likely to lead a life of suffering. The movie points at the industry as a reason of this ([spoiler] the preference of commercial, watered down musical acts; luck and being in the right place at the right time both being a determining factor for achieving fame and success [/spoiler]), but it does not shy away from judging its main character as well ([spoiler] his idealism and mess of a personal life lead to bad behavior and are part of the reason why he keeps living in the same metaphorical loop [/spoiler]). I think it’s nuanced and beautiful, it has great characters and acting. Moreover, the cinematography is incredibly atmospheric. You can feel the cold of this movie, it’s the perfect movie to watch when it’s snowing outside. The music’s also pretty nice, assuming that you have an appreciation for folk. Definitely among my favorite Coen brothers films, it knows how to be depressing without hammering you over the head with it.

9/10

Ps: I love that the Golden Globes nominated the song that’s meant be an example of corporate, soulless garbage for best song. That’s just perfect and very ironic in the context of the film.

"If it was never new, and it never gets old, then it's a folk song."
Llewyn says that twice in the whole film. once at the start and then towards the very end. Between these two occurrences, we have had a journey, or was that just one another day?

Inside Llewyn Davis is a polarising film by the Coen brothers. Their usual fanbase did not expect this. It goes away from their usual work. Inside Llewyn Davis is a story of a struggling folk singer. He is living in times that are probably lost, yet he is clinging to his passion. Does that bring him a lot of happiness? Hardly so. He is in love with the struggle itself.

Succinctly acted and brilliantly filmed, this left a lasting impression on me. Llewyn has the voice and the presence, but he is practising a craft that has fallen on the sidelines of culture and is slowly being forgotten. His puritanical love of the form is not enough. He does not wish to change with times. [spoiler]He had a partner, who committed suicide. He is not out of that shock. He has not processed it yet.[/spoiler]

A lot of people have equated this to the depiction of depression and how Llewyn is unwittingly struggling to come out of the pit which is hard for him to even perceive. Oscar Isaac, who portrays Llewyn, won a well-deserving Gloden Globe for his portrayal of the trapped, tragic titular character. Carey Mulligan has a smaller role but she is at her vulnerable best. I just like her too much. (please go watch Drive)

The cinematography is by Bruno Delbonnel. He has worked before on Amelie, Darkest Hour and even a Harry Potter film. All praise to him for keeping these different movies different. I remember pausing the scenes filmed in The Gaslight Cafe (a real place which operated from 1958 to 1971, notable as a venue for folk music) for the beautiful frames Bruno captures. Tell me what you feel about the lingering smokey haze that almost always exists in all the frames. The passage of time through a long road journey or the passing train stations convey a lot more meaning than anything overtly said.

I have always loved The Eagles so the folk song genre was not new for me. For a movie about the folk singer, the movie takes its music very seriously. Oscar has performed many of the songs himself. Hang Me, Oh Hang Me, Fare Thee Well, and The Death of Queen Jane are especially memorable. As I am typing this, I am listening to the movie soundtrack on repeat. Especially all Oscar's songs embody that melancholy fighting spirit Llewyn holds dear and seldom lets go.

Apart from a personal story, it also talks about the need for patronage artists need in their career. All forms of arts or sports rely heavily on the audiences' backing and support. It also raises an important question regarding should artists go commercial in search of popularity and validation or stay true to their personal dedication towards the form and nature of their craft and refuse to budge even when all support is lost? There are no easy answers to this dilemma.

Inside Llewyn Davis is an experience. It is worth a watch for Oscar's acting, Bruno's cinematography and Dave Van Ronk's enchanting music. The Coen brothers have created a lovely piece of art that will stay relevant for long.

Do the Coen Brothers ever disappoint? Other than The LadyKillers, I don't think so. I loved just about everything about this film. The first thing I noticed was how real it felt. Every character (especially the lead) was completely believable. I felt like I was on the journey with Llewyn and this is extremely difficult to pull off in film. The film is another great example of a film that is meant to be enjoyed by people who want to work a little bit to get the most out of a movie. It certainly took its time getting to where it is going and ultimately it really didn't "go" anywhere in a literal sense (and in fact, it went backwards). If you think that nothing happened then you missed the point of the film.

That said, I have to admit that I missed a lot of the symbolism that was presented in the film. Do yourself a favor and do some reading after you watch the film.

A wonderful performance from Oscar Isaac. He has a lovely singing voice. All the music is terrific. The cinematography is great. The story is depressing yet funny. Seeing Oscar Isaac walking around with a cat will never get old.

>One of the mornings, it won't be long, you'll call my name, and i'll be gone