Review of Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) by Chris W — 17 Mar 2014

June 6th, 2012. That was when I first watched Woody Allen's Manhattan. A film I HAD to watch twice because I honestly didn't know how I felt about it, and almost kinda didn't like it. It's not often I feel that way about a movie, and it wasn't until early January of 2014 when I felt that way again. That was when I went to the local indie theater and watched Inside LLewyn Davis. Well, technically I had similar feeling just under two months before when I saw Frozen, but the feelings were even stronger with ILD.

And here it is, March 2014, and I still kinda don't know exactly how I feel about ILD. I warmed up to Frozen, but I'm still a bit conflicted with ILD. And this bothers me.

Perhaps some more context is needed. I'm a Coen Brothers apologist. It's basically impossible for me to get too critical or dislike the films of Joel and Ethan Coen. Also, when I saw Inside Llewyn Davis, it was during the downslope of my most recent relationship (a bit of a dark, rough time), and it was the last film my now ex and I saw as a couple. She loved it. I was conflicted about it, and we had personal tensions rising between us. I'm the fan boy, and, thanks to me, she was becoming a fan. And while my personal life is an influence, it's not the main one. In fact, I think I had an unsure feeling about this one ever since I first heard about it, or at least since I fist saw the trailer. Typically, I'm immediately "in" when I see a trailer for a Coen Bros. movie. The trailer for this one left me cold, underwhelmed, and worried that this might be their first film that's not really that good. This worried me as I love the Coens, and the fact that this is a period piece about the Greenwich Village folk scene.

And the film is a lot like the trailer. It finds the Coens in a dark, nihilistic, and somber mood. It has moments of humor of course, but, much like the winter the film takes place in, it's quite a frosty and bitter affair.

In the immediate conversation my ex and I had as we drove home, she said she'd give it 4 and a 1/2 out of 5, whereas I, feeling pressed, gave it a tentative 4 (at the very least). The ex hated, and I mean fervently HATED A Serious Man, whereas I love it. Because of conversations we had about that film, she got me thinking that maybe I was in the wrong, and that that film really wasn't all that great. She mostly didn't care for it because a lot of it felt pointless, and, though it had good ideas, didn't quite come together for her. She also hated the nature of the characters, and felt no connection to them. I keep bringing that film up because this one is a lot like that.

The plot is a pretty loose one. It's set in the early 1960s pre-Dylan folk scene in New York, and features a week in the life of a fairly talented but struggling folk singer. He's got a lot of problems, many of them being his own fault since he's more than a little bit of an unlikeable jerk. He's a difficult person, and also kinda aimless and shiftless. Not a whole lot happens over the course of this week, at least not on a personal level, which is kinda problematic since this is primarily a character study. Even the Coens said they added the subplot about a cat because they were worried that the film had too little of a plot.

It struck me as odd how the ex hated ASM for being so plot lite, but loved this one. She did admit that there was just a bit more plot here than in ASM to keep her going. Any less and she would have not been as on board. That, and I think she just liked/cared about this story more than that one.

Like my continual bringing up of the (painful) past, Inside Llewyn Davis is a circuitous film that dwells on the unpleasant. You want to like Llewyn, but he doesn't make it hard. He's got a sad life, but he doesn't do much to make it better. I too feel like a lot of my problems are because of me, and it hit a bit too close to home for me realizing that I'm pretty aimless and shiftless like Llewyn. At least my ex was far less venomous and bitchy than Carey Mulligan's character. And I don't think I have it as bad as him, but then again, I do have a penchant for thinking my life is miserable (and even trying to make it that way on purpose).

I don't know how many of you are still reading this, and maybe I should just start over from the beginning and revamp this whole review. I don't think I will though. I need this. Even though my break up was quite amicable, and even though I am more over it than I thought, I still have a lot of baggage and things I've kept bottled up. This is catharsis for me.

I did like this movie. It is a challenge, and maybe I need to rewatch it with a new perspective, a cleansed palate. After all, I did have to watch Manhattan twice before I felt sure about it.

For now though, I'll just finish this review, and give my grade as a tentative one, even if it bugs me that whatever grade I give it may not be the absolute "final" one.

This is a moody, atmospheric period piece with great music, fine performances from a good cast, excellent cinematography, and a nice look at a neat part of music (and cultural) history. It's hard to like the characters, but that's how it is in real life sometimes, too. Tonally this is a very odd film, and there's some weird moments, and I'm not quite sure what the Coens are going for, or what the point is, but I feel like this is something they felt they needed to do, and, despite my issues, I respect this as a piece of art.

I do recommend it, but will warn you that you need to be in the mood for something dark, a bit vague, and fairly melancholy. For now, Let's give it 4 and call it a near A-, if only for formality's sake.