Review of Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) by Axelkoch — 30 Dec 2013

Llewyn Davis, a loose take on the folk singer Dave Van Volk, will, in hindsight, not be remembered as one of the Coen brothers’ most interesting characters and neither will the movie, in which he is the eponymous protagonist. However, Inside Llewyn Davis is still another great picture by the inseparable duo that can deservedly look forward to a couple of Oscar nominations in January.

Whether it’s the trademark cynical writing, the excellent acting throughout the cast, the bleak yet beautiful cinematography (even though it’s not Coen regular Roger Deakins this time around, but Amélie’s Bruno Delbonnel), or the perfectly done editing (reaching its pinnacle in a sort of match-cut between a man and a cat walking) this semi-musical is done flawlessly and should be a feast for connoisseurs of quality movies. Yet I can’t exclude the fact that the 105 minutes feels like a lot more than that and that the full-length folk performances popping up every now and then only increase this. That’s not an all-too-strong counterargument though, as the sheer fact that Ethan and Joel Coen succeeded in making a so heavily down-to-earth and unspectacular story into a movie that I will definitely watch some time again is enough for praise. The protagonist, as it turns out, is probably the most relatable character in the year of 2013 and seeing him perpetually fail in his attempts at becoming able to really live from his hobby gets all the more harrowing to watch through that.

Inside Llewyn Davis is the perfect dramedy and additionally a lovely experience for fellow cat-lovers, as the tubby with the aptonym Ulysses gets more screen time to be cute than all the supporting actors. That again shows that it’s all about Llewyn and his never-ending cycle of failing, which makes the movie, despite being a step back in humour and inventiveness, a Coen number one: in the category of those of their works one can easily spend an hour thinking about.