Review of Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) by Mark M — 26 Dec 2014

Loosely inspired by folk singer Dave Van Ronk, Inside Llewyn Davis follows the life of Llewyn Davis, a struggling New York folk singer fighting against the tidal wave of other musicians who are also trying to make it big in The Big Apple, as he attempts to juggle a 'career' that has begun to erode as it heads nowhere following the departure of his music partner, the sudden revelations involving his more personal life and the cat that he is stuck with, as it feeds into the symbolic loop of Davis' life.

With a significant jump from supporting roles - such as the well-meaning, but ultimately useless father Standard Gabriel in Drive (2011) to an expendable Project Outcome asset in the narrative that Jeremy Renner shacks up with in The Bourne Legacy (2012) - to a major role in Inside Llewyn Davis, Oscar Isaac proves the old adage that there is still untapped talent in Hollywood's pool of supporting actors, as he oozes charisma in the role of Llewyn Davis and eases himself all too naturally in portraying a talented musician that the suits in the '60s music industry just aren't interested in investing in. Perhaps this was an unintentional allegory by the Coen brothers towards the film industry, by casting the relatively underused, yet highly talented Isaac in the role of a character that is somewhat in the same situation as him.

Isaac's co-stars aren't exactly chump change passed around in a hat for struggling musicians either. Joined by his future Star Wars: The Force Awakens co-star, Adam Driver in the relatively small role of musician Al Cody, the oddly cast Justin Timberlake as Jim, and Isaac's Drive co-star, the highly talented Carey Mulligan as Jim's partner, Jean, with the additional supporting actors including Garrett Hedlund, F. Murray Goodman, and a frequent collaborator of the Coen brothers, John Goodman, and despite the characters of each of these actors being the textbook definition of supporting characters, they're certainly portrayed excellently given what little they to work with.

The Coen brothers - Joel and Ethan - have consistently crafted amazing movies, as writers and directors, in the past from The Big Lebowski (1998) to the critically acclaimed No Country for Old Men (2007), and Inside Llewyn Davis is no different, despite not quite reaching benchmark the latter had set on their resume, and also remarkably being the only movie from the duo that managed to fly under my radar for as long as it did. Light on the story, and heavy on the acting and soundtrack, the Coen brothers have instead chosen to focus on bringing the atmosphere that permeated the smoky music scene of the '60s to life. This is aided by the cinematographer known for the contrasting, morbid cinematography that went into the likes of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) and Dark Shadows (2012), as Bruno Delbonnel hits it out of the park with the paradoxically warm yet chilly mood that Inside Llewyn Davis evokes with a palette that blankets the movie in a tint fitting for a movie set against the backdrop of the early '60s.