Review of Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) by Brian G — 25 Nov 2014

Review: Inside Llewyn Davis (15A) *****.

Following in a similar artistic format to films such as 'Broken Flowers', 'Somewhere' and 'Lost in Translations' the latest film from the Coen Brothers follows a semi-plot-less narrative of one person's life set over a short period of time. In this case the narrative follows the life of Llewyn Davis (played brilliantly by Oscar Isaac), a folk singer struggling to 'make it' in 1961, some years before the folk music revolution led by Bob Dylan. Along the way Davis meets a series of unique and diverse characters such as: The always moody Jean (played by the ever endearing Carey Mulligan), her soft spoken husband Jim (played with to great effect by Justin Timberland) and the deeply irritating Roland Turner (played by the great John Goodman).

The real driving force behind this movie is Oscar Isaac himself in what is sure to be a career making performance role for the man who was turned down for the lead role in the latest Bourne movie. Isaac carries himself convincingly as a fed up and tired man that is just trying to live his life the way he wants to. This is perhaps best captured by his musical performances during which his face and voice drip with believable emotion and anguish.

However, that's not to say that Isaac is the only strength of this movie. Excellent support is given by Carey Mulligan whom in between swearing tries to figure out if Davis is aware of his actions and their consequences, the traditional Coen Brothers' humour is here in spades and never fails to raise a smile. Meanwhile the stellar musical performances will have many long term Coen fans remembering one of their earlier films 'O Brother Where Art thou?'.

Where 'Inside Llewyn Davis' is let down is through its design. Paced similar to a Gus Van Sant movie it will no doubt find a niche audience but will have limited mainstream appeal. Another issue with this style of film making is the use of purposeless scenes, such as when Davis while travelling home to New York runs over an animal. The act happens, they pause for thought, they move on and we the audience, forget.

Despite having some flaws, based on admirable performances by the cast, engaging writing and the outstanding soundtrack (in particular Marcus Mumford's rendition of 'Dinks' Song'), Inside Llewyn Davis is definitely worth a watch and repeated listening.

- Brian Glynn.