Review of Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) by Vera W — 26 Jan 2015

Inside Lleweyn Davis.

This film is a metaphor for the cultural loss of innocence that the US experienced in 1967. That's it. Once you have that symbolic backbone, you're less likely to fall asleep at the wheel during this meandering, episodic character study. And once you realize that the Cohen Brothers' story writing is nothing more than a strung together series of metaphorical set pieces based on a theme, the music subsides, and a faint odor appears.

Llewyn is a folk singer who wrestles with his squeaky clean past in a button up duo, now wanders the country trying to find his new cynical voice, picking up fetid experiences along the way. By the end of his journey, he viciously harangues an cutesy folk performer on stage and is pummeled for it, a young Bob Dylan appears on stage after him, a subtle harbinger that the new era of rock and roll has begun. That's it. That's all that happens. The middle is a series of scenes where the usual Cohenesque parade of circus performers provides easily resolved chaos to trip up our hero.

The symbolic song lyrics provide a literary and cultural canvas for the film, a welcome substitute for the lack of action, plot and emotion, throughout. At least the lead character shows some transformation by the end, which is a welcome structural component in this plot wasteland.

The Cohen Brothers can't resist repeating the first scene as the last scene in the movie. (They do it because it's the only action in the film. No other reason.) Without it, there'd be no reason to read past page ten. In this subtle character study, waiting for a page ten turning point, or structure of any kind is pointless. Be happy with the lead actor's subtle, muted, albeit convincing performance and some captivating folk music.