Inside Llewyn Davis

[kevinknapman]

Seeing as there's a Times screening of this tomorrow I guess there should be a page for it.

Anyway. For me Inside Llewyn Davis was the best film I saw at the cinema last year. I saw it twice. First at the London Film Festival in October followed by a screening at the BFI Southbank in December.
As a huge Coen Brothers fan (Burn After Reading, The Ladykillers and Intolerable Cruelty aside), I'm probably biased but this finds them at the top of their game. Less quirky than normal perhaps and existing in the same muted, downbeat realm of Barton Fink and A Serious Man but still blessed with the kind of quote-worthy, funny and offbeat dialogue that has been their trademark since Blood Simple.

Anyone who likes their films with a straight A-B plot and a definitive end may find it's freewheeling story and ambiguous ending less than satisfying, but for everyone else, Llewyn Davis's attempts to find some kind of success as a folk musician while drifting from one friend's couch to another shouldn't prove too difficult to be engaged by. Outstanding performances across the board definitely help. Carey Mulligan and Justin Timberlake as husband and wife folk singers, John Goodman and Garrett Hedlund as a veteran junkie jazz musician and his taciturn driver, Adam Driver bringing the quirk as one of the singers on the novelty track 'Please Mr Kennedy' (outrageously robbed of the Best Original Song award along with Frozen's 'Let it Go' at the Golden Globes by a deeply mediocre U2 track) and F Murray Abraham as the gate keeper of seminal folk club The Gate of Horn. Oh and not forgetting a great cat performance from a ginger tom that Llewyn finds himself lumbered with at the start of the film.

Uniting all these characters together however and giving what is likely to be a career defining role is Oscar Isaac as the titular character.
And an excellent performance it is too, dominating almost every scene in the film and managing to make an unlikeable and potentially alienating character fascinating despite his flaws. Loosely based on real-life singer Dave Van Ronk (several of Llewyn's songs are Van Ronk songs and he shares his merchant marine background), though slightly more of a loser perhaps (Van Ronk was known as The Mayor of MacDougal Street, Llewyn Davis is mayor of nowhere), Isaac deserves all the acclaim that has come his way so far.

He's also a fine singer and musician which brings us to the film's other trump card. It's fantastic soundtrack. Crucially never played as pastiche or spoof, the songs are excellent, genuine examples of songs that were around at the time in the Greenwich Village folk scene. Mulligan and Timberlake's involvement in a Peter, Paul and Mary style singing group, Llewyn's own fondness for traditional if uncommercial folk songs and even the novelty tune 'Please Mr Kennedy' which despite the amusing vocal tics courtesy of Girls' Adam Driver actually has its roots in genuine protest songs about Vietnam. The Coens clearly have a fondness for this music and it shows. Along with veteran music producer T Bone Burnett, the level of love and detail that has gone into the soundtrack is impressive, with the filmmakers even going so far as to record the majority of the performances live on set (a relative rarity in this day and age). The songs also form an important part of the narrative making it a musical of sorts.

It also looks fantastic, with Bruno Delbonnel proving to be a more than adequate replacement for Coen regular Roger Deakins (unavailable due to Skyfall filming commitments). The wintry blue-tinged hues inspired by the album cover of The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan.

As you can probably tell I loved Inside Llewyn Davis but it won't be to everyone's taste. Though fans of the brothers and anyone with a passing interest in folk music should find plenty to enjoy here. A last minute cameo of sorts by a real-life figure of the scene has been dismissed by some as overly cute but it signifies a turning point in the fortunes of many of the artists around at the time. The folk scene exploded in a way it hadn't before, whether Llewyn Davis will be around to enjoy and profit from that success is the question the film ultimately poses.

[funthing29]

I saw this a while back which included a post film Q&A with Oscar Isaac and the musical director.

I was not wowed by the film when I watched it but the more I think back on it, the more I liked it. I liked the ambiguity of the lead character in that he is selfish and yet sympathetic so his journey is understandable. It is simple, honest and a strong character driven piece of drama. Oscar Isaac is brilliant and it is impressive how much emotion he conveys through looking moody and with limited dialogue. Using the actors to perform the folk songs was also a bold stroke by the Coen brothers and works very well, one of the highlights of the film.

I agree with kk that this is not for everyone, it is quite meandering and does not have a focused direction which may bore and frustrate people but I enjoyed it and think it can hold its own against the other big award contenders.

I rated it 7.5/10 last year but in hindsight would give it 8/10.

[kevinknapman]

Here's a link to the post screening Q&A at the BFI Southbank with Oscar Isaac and T Bone Burnett.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news ... n-davis-qa

[canadian_turtle]

I rated this a 7.5 when I saw it last year as I thought it was a fascinating, funny and sometimes also moving film, Oscar Isaac was fantastic as Llewyn Davis and the folk music really suited the overall melancholic atmosphere. In hindsight thought I don't remember much about it specifically anymore, or anything in particular I thoroughly enjoyed (except for the cat!), so I'd probably mark it down to a (still solid) 7 our of 10.

[yogi]

Beautiful to look at, like a Dylan album cover brought to life and full of excellent music I'm still not sure what it all adds up to but overall I liked it.

The plot is meandering or non existent depending on your point of view, but its stuffed full of rich characters and some genuinely funny moments including a laugh out loud line about a cat

7/10

[prettyxcool]

My first preview of the year, finally! Shame it was in the tiny screen 3 at Odeon Holloway. Good to see ejwrank and hubby, David plus friend, and livi92.

At 6pm we were told they were not sure when the film will start but no later than half an hour late as they were having problems "transferring" the film, whatever that meant! So OH wanted to go and get a cappuccino and it turned out to be quite disgusting! When we turned around, a huge queue had formed, so we sneaked back near the front, and at about 6.15 they started letting everyone in, and I managed to bag the back row. However, I was questioned every minute, by two ushers (two in such a tiny, tiny screening room!), whether I was saving those seats and do I really need all the seats! Yes, because we were the first to arrive, and unfortunately ejwrank and David got held back by the throng of people. Although, they did let a lady in front of us hold an empty seat until the screening started, then she was asked to leave to let two people waiting to come in as her plus one had still not arrived. The film started 15 minutes late so was not too bad, when we were expecting it to be later.

I really liked this film, so beautiful and mesmerising, the mood and feel. I loved the music and songs, all so beautiful and beautifully sang, Carey Mulligan so angelic on stage singing with Justin Timberlake, yet so angry and spouting pure hatred with the F-word at Oscar Issac, fabulous. Lots of oddball characters. A little too slow in the middle for me with the road trip, but a very captivating film, great performances all round, and the cat too! And I have to mention the Mr Kennedy song, that was so funny. Outer Space! 8/10

[eumenides]

Wow, this was wonderful in so many ways. The music stayed with me all night and was what kept the momentum going throughout the film especially during slower parts where, without it, it might have lost its way. All actors were noteworthy and Oscar Isaac such a talent as actor and interpreter of the Van Ronk songs. I'm not sure anyone else could have pulled off Llewyn Davis with such aplomb. If the plot meandered a bit it was all forgiven, by me at least. Fare thee well Llewyn Davis !

9/10 A real treat though Soton Odeon kept us waiting for almost an extra half hour for no apparent reason. A packed screening with a massive queue forming very early on; I will have to get my skates on in future with the Times as 98% of the clientele are retired and able to camp out in the foyer for hours beforehand.

[missmac]

Thank you all for your reviews, you have all confirmed that this definitely a film that's on the list to watch!

[The Sparrow]

I'm not a big fan of the Coen Brothers although I do like some. I also quite often get frustrated by films that meander and have ambiguous endings BUT I loved this film to bits.

If you accept it as a snapshot of Llewyn's life and the people he comes into contact with, then you will find it as enjoyable as I did. Filled with extraordinarily good performances from all, Oscar and Carey in particular and a scene stealing cat, the music is wonderful too. I can't fault this film. The muted tones and the "cameo" just added to the overall wonderfulness of this lovely little film.

9/10 from me and I would p*y to see this again, that's how much I enjoyed it.

[LondonCityNights]

I loved it, folk singer as Sisyphus, trapped in a genre where success equals failure, and authenticity comes from misery and poverty. A folk singer living a folk song and hating it! Cute cat too, which is always a bonus.

http://www.londoncitynights.com/2014/01 ... ed-by.html

★★★★