Review of Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) by Blake P — 25 Mar 2014

Llewyn Davis is having a hard time. It's 1961, and he longs to be a musician - well, a successful musician, I should say, He plays cheap gigs, lives in a world of "fuck you"'s, and can barely afford to pay for lunch, let alone rent. He spends his nights crashing other people's flats, and passes his days pondering what he's going to do next. After all, his hopes and dreams surely aren't paying off.

"Inside Llewyn Davis", the Coen Brothers' new film, is one of the most underrated of 2013. Set in the Greenwich Village folk scene before Bob Dylan turned the genre into a worldwide phenomenon, the film is in turns hilarious and dramatic, but at its core, it is so deeply melancholy that we can't help but want to frown at every turn.

Llewyn Davis isn't a normal kind of hero, because he isn't a hero - in fact, more often than not, we can't stand him. If he crashes a dinner party, he doesn't care. If he impregnates another man's wife, he doesn't mind. We may not get the chance to truly root for him, but there's a profound sort of understanding that remains from the very start of the film. He's a man who lives in a perpetual world of disappointment, and so in turn, he treats the rest of the world the same way he treats him. So be it.

The Coens manage time and time again in the film to deliver what they're most famous for. There is a distinct and very richly drawn visual style, and when the humor hits, it speeds through with a sort of pessimism that is so uncomfortable that it makes you laugh because it hits so close to home. Their capturing of the folk scene is never romanticized, showing that, just no matter how good you are, if you can't stand apart from the others in the room, you'll never make it.

The most heartbreaking scene in the film embodies this factor with a gut-wrenching reality that may hurt the viewer more than it does Llewyn. Coming towards the end of the film, we see him auditioning for Bud Grossman (F. Murray Abraham), a producer who could easily make his career go levels higher than it stands at presently. In just a few minutes, Llewyn performs for him, practically selling him his soul. In this moment, it isn't hard to think for a minute that when the song is finished, Grossman will adore his style, hire him, and Llewyn will in turn become the next big thing. But it isn't so. He finishes, Grossman casually responds that he doesn't see money that will be made, and offers to give Llewyn a part in a trio that is destined for stardom. Rather than storm off angrily like usual, Llewyn rejects the offer subtly and takes off.

This scene is dealt with with such grace that it causes it to sting even harder. It doesn't take long for us to realize that Llewyn will simply never make it - he's talented, but he isn't talented enough. He doesn't have the charisma needed for the universe to adore him; he doesn't have catchy enough tunes. It's painful to think just how many folk musicians during this time period were faced with the same brutal honesty.

Llewyn Davis is portrayed by Oscar Isaac, an actor who has been around for years but, like the character he's playing, doesn't have the star power behind him to land coveted and attention getting roles. Finally here, he makes his mark. Not only a talented singer, Isaac is entrancing as Llewyn, convincing us wholeheartedly of his predicament. He embodies the role, making us kick ourselves to think that it has taken so long for an actor, not nearly a newcomer, to be discovered.

With fiery supporting performances from Carey Mulligan and John Goodman, "Inside Llewyn Davis" shows the Coens at their most honest, and most artistic. Their career together may have began with a sort of absurd style of filmmaking, but it has now morphed into something that is still entertaining, but much more bluntly realistic. And in return, this maturing has created one of their finest films, without a doubt.