Inside Llewyn Davis, 2013.
Directed by Ethan Coen and Joel Coen.
Starring Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, John Goodman, Garret Hedlund, and Oscar Isaac.
SYNOPSIS:
Cannes Festival darlings Ethan and Joel Cohen return to the Croisette and to magnificent form with the eponymous tale of failed folk singer – and a failure in so many other things – Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac).
The film opens in 1961 on the cusp of the US folk revival. In an underground bar somewhere in the Village, Llewyn gives the audience a couple of songs before heading outside, where “a man in a suit” is waiting for him. Llewyn takes a beating and so his journey begins. We see this wandering minstrel awakening in a lovely apartment (not his – he’s on the couch) and heading out the door, but not before the cat has come with him. This cat (or cats) will play a fundamental part in Llewyn’s story.
His best pals are Jean and Jim (Carey Mulligan and Justin Timberlake), though to call Jean a friend might be pushing it. They’ve certainly been close and this is a cause of much anger and recrimination. The lovely and innocent Jim is also a folk singer and we see him and Jean invited on stage to sing along with another performer. Some of the songs in this film are bound to cause some sniggering, but there is a genuine sense of sympathy for the genre which was soon to dominate the American airwaves with the likes of Peter, Paul and Mary, Joan Baez, and the figure who appears briefly in the film’s shadows, Bob Dylan.
The title of the film is a reference to the singer’s failed album, but of course it refers to the inner machinations of this troubled and hapless character. Throughout the week that we share with him, we watch him go through many trials and tribulations, one of which is a road trip to Chicago. With Llewyn are the taciturn Johnny Five (Garrett Hedlund) and the heroin addict jazz musician Roland Turner (John Goodman), possibly two of the least companionable car-sharers you’d ever care to head west with. As in previous Coen brother outings, Goodman’s cameo is a pitch-perfect sinister turn, though here he lacks any of the friendly camaraderie of his Barton Fink character. It’s a bit like being trapped in a car with the local pub bore, only worse.
This physical journey represents something of a metaphysical one for our angry anti-hero. The Coens might just win the Palme d’Or with this film, as they did with the marvellous Barton Fink. This would be a popular choice: Inside Llewyn Davis appeals to many on various levels. It is at once highly intelligent, fiercely amusing and has a cracking script and soundtrack. And their leading man Oscar Isaac has turned in an award-deserving performance of the complex man lurking beneath those folksy tunes.
Flickering Myth Rating: Film ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Jo Ann Titmarsh
Originally published May 20, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
