Inside Llewyn Davis (Coen Brothers)

[Ezee E]

http://www.dvdsreleasedates.com/posters/800/I/Inside-Llewyn-Davis-2013-movie-poster.jpg


IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2042568/?ref_=sr_1)

[Boner M]

In news that will come as a shock to everyone, this was great.

[monolith94]

God, I'm so looking forward to this. Huge Dave Van Ronk fan, don't know why my computer doesn't have Sunday Street on it any more. Time to ask my dad if he still has a copy.

[DavidSeven]

Come on, E. Throw up a poster and format your hyperlink, yo.

[Ezee E]

Come on, E. Throw up a poster and format your hyperlink, yo.

Boom.

[wigwam]

:|

[Ezee E]

I watched it a second time. Appreciated it a little more, but my ranking is about the same.

[Izzy Black]

Solid film.

[eternity]

More than most Coen Bros. movies, I could FEEL the formula. Gonna have to sit on this one before I feel comfortable really weighing in.

[Qrazy]

I agree with wigwam. I didn't feel this amounted to much, but here and there I enjoyed it. The stuff about his partner resonated I thought but I wish they'd done more with it. Goodman's response to it and his role in general were a complete waste of time.

[Izzy Black]

I liked that scene with his dad.

[Thirdmango]

I'm on the other side of Qrazy in that the journey to Chicago and a lot of John Goodman's role in all of it was my favorite sequence through the film. However I do agree I wasn't as into it as I have been with most other Coen fare. The Coen's are my favorite directors so I still like it quite a bit, just lower tier Coen for me.

[Watashi]

So fucking good.

[Henry Gale]

This is definitely something. Like A Serious Man or even No Country, it's one experience of how I felt in the moment, and a completely separate other one of how I feel after it. It sticks in my head a day and a half after seeing it with different shades peering over each other and blending together in new ways that now push me towards seeing the big picture it keeps so close to the chest for so much of it.

To try and attempt to boil it down, it's a quiet, nonchalant moral and broadly philosophical human puzzle that doesn't give you the most meaningful instructions of how to piece together until the very end (and even then rightfully leaving much to you), all while gobsmacking you with the new realization that you already had all lot of those pieces to begin with, just without context.

It's perfectly textured, it's hilarious and affable, it's cold, it's bleek, it's beautiful, it's hopeless, and I wouldn't have it any other way because it's entirely its own beast in terms of filmmaking both within and outside the Coens' oeuvre, which might be all you can ask from directors 16 films into their career. And like the three films they made prior to True Grit (which I've still only seen once in the theatre), I can only see myself returning to this again and again and taking something different and more effective every time. It's one of the best of the year, and yet, it purposely doesn't design itself to feel as complete or instantly gratifying as that. The film is its character, and the character isn't one that's easy to sum up in a few lines, as no person or story should be.

**** / 9.1

[Qrazy]

So personally I found the framing device and the au revoir fairly obnoxious but I'm guessing some of you liked it?

[Pop Trash]

Hmm I can't decide if I like this more or less because of its (apparent) slightness.

[Izzy Black]

less

[Ezee E]

How disappointing that there's only 17 posts on this movie.

[Watashi]

Still in limited release, no?

I can't stop thinking about this movie. It's the most sincere and emotionally honest film from the Coens.

[Henry Gale]

Yeah, I gotta say, as much as I might have loved Wolf of Wall Street most from this last stretch of the year, it's Llewyn (which I saw two days earlier) that I can't shake from my mind, despite its calmer, colder, drier demeanor.

It's haunting in a way I didn't expect it to be. The framing device only allowing everything to play in an even more exhilaratingly open-ended and ambiguously beautiful way. How we perceive his performance in the opening seems like it speaks loudly to the way his passion there operates as some sort of peak inevitably segue-ing towards a downfall, but instead, the cyclical nature of the journey we see between doesn't give hope or grief to him once we return. The one thing it really confirms that the only time we may ever him content and vulnerable might be through those songs.

[Stay Puft]

So personally I found the framing device and the au revoir fairly obnoxious but I'm guessing some of you liked it?

I appreciated what they were trying to do. There is no indication that the movie begins at the end, as Llewyn waking up at the Gorfiens could have easily been the following morning. So by the time we wrap around at the end, there's this nice ambiguity at first with the repetition of events; this could be a few nights later, a few nights ago, or really any night of Llewyn's life, as he's caught himself in that existential trap Jean and his sister warn him about (he simply exists). But like many things in this movie, I felt the Coens stumbled through the execution (and the "au revoir" was indeed obnoxious).

I enjoyed the film, but yeah, some scenes are just off. I didn't care for the digression with Goodman and Tron Guy, and I also didn't care for the stuff with the cat, particularly the scene where Llewyn hits it with the car and we see it limping away in the snow (or even when Llewyn finally learns its name, also a little too cute/obnoxious).

I do love how the Coens handled the core of the story, though, with Mike Timlin being the absent heart of the film, and showing how that absence informs Llewyn's existence. Just could have used a few less digressions, I guess.

[Spinal]

I loved every single thing about this movie. It's a painfully accurate portrait of artistic struggle, masterful in both construction and execution. The in-joke casting of F. Murray Abraham is golden, the supporting cast is uniformly excellent and Oscar Isaac is utterly authentic both as a gifted musician and as a down-on-his-luck schlub. Top notch.

[Spinal]

I didn't care for the digression with Goodman and Tron Guy

I'm not sure how this could be characterized as a digression. It speaks to the very core of the film's themes and milieu. You have the brooding, discontented folk singer ... you have the arrogant, snobbish jazz musician ... you have the aloof beat poet who is alternately inarticulate and romantic. Pop music isn't a part of the journey. Pop music is represented on the radio. Pop music has already arrived. And then, of course, you have the cat, which is clearly a symbol for ... something ... you tell me. It's a beautiful allegorical set-up. Remember the reference to The Incredible Journey?

The other thing that scene does is set up the following scene in which Davis auditions. You feel the weight of his journey and the trouble he has gone through to get there, which makes what happens next all the more effective.

[dreamdead]

This is lingering really well. Love the cat and love the overall tone of the film--it feels like a cousin to A Serious Man, which is one of their best.

[Stay Puft]

I'm not sure how this could be characterized as a digression.

Neither am I. Bad choice of words.

Nothing about those scenes was resonating for me, which is what I was trying to get at. Goodman and Tron Guy felt like caricatures in contrast to the depth of Isaac's character/performance. Goodamn's antics were ott and Tron Guy's performance in particular was irksome, like a nails-on-chalkboard B-side to his role in On the Road.

I thought the reference to The Incredible Journey was another dumb/clumsy moment, too, in context. He just stops and stares at a movie poster. Like it's supposed to be profound or resonate or something but it just doesn't. I enjoyed the film a lot but I have to agree with wigwam, eternity, et al, that moments like that just feel forced/formulaic/obvious/whatever.

A Serious Man is a much better film, for my money.

[Mal]

This movie haunts me a day after seeing. Oscar Isaac is brilliant.

[Pop Trash]

One thing that bothers me that hasn't been mentioned is how thinly drawn both JT's and -epecially- Carey Mulligan's characters were. As I was watching it, I thought it would be a good companion piece to Greenberg, also very much about a failed musician having Sysyphusian struggles in life often by his own making. But then I remembered the depth of the role that Greta Gerwig has in that. It doesn't help that both of these films involve an abortion. Greenberg obviously handling it much better.

[Henry Gale]

Every relationship Llewyn has in the film seems intentionally illustrated with as loosely tethered a connection as he genuinely has between them. He essentially builds his social life as a merry-go-round of accquaintances who will hopefully be there when he needs them, but definitely not the other way around. The only constant for the audience is him and his journey, and his only constant is his music.

I think the one character that spends more than a few scenes with him is the cat. Which makes sense since, well, y'know.

EDIT: I'm not saying I disagree that the impression we have of Mulligan and Timberlake feels almost more slight than expected at the end, but the film's structure is what it is, and that type of vaguely drawn portraits and foggy characterization is a trait that runs through its entire cast of characters with the exception of its titular one. And in terms of overall screentime, I'm not sure what added pathos or dimension to them would've benefited the overall story that's so entirely shaped by and around its protagonist.

I mean, this is a movie where Goodman and Hedlund get 3rd and 4th billing, and a significant portion of their respective performances are made up of snoring and smoking.

[Sven]

This movie really is one of those that blooms beautifully after it has wiggled its way into your brain and nestled for a bit. Truly impressive reflection, imperfect like a person. Not sure I dig the Mulligan role, though. Swearing was forced and she is apparently just a chick to have sex with.

[Sxottlan]

Beautiful film. All the more amazing considering how much of a monster Llewyn can be. Asking the unwitting boyfriend of his lover for money for an abortion of a baby even though there's a good chance the boyfriend is the father. Loved the scene by the side of the road past Akron. Haunting.

And this film has four, count 'em four, classic Coen Brothers "guys behind the desk." I liked that really all Llewyn learned by the end was to keep the cat from escaping the apartment. And by the way, the cat? Totally the Sisyphus boulder. ;)

Not see any comments about the music. I quite liked it. Feels like they're trying for the success of the soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou? I don't know if it'll be as bit a hit, but I've already bought "Fare Thee Well" and "Five Hundred Miles." Those were my favorite songs.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Fucking hell. No big Oscar noms means little chance of me getting to see this in theaters.

[ledfloyd]

Fucking hell. No big Oscar noms means little chance of me getting to see this in theaters.
Yeah, that was my thought. I wonder if a better release strategy would've generated more buzz?

[number8]

I wonder if a better release strategy would've generated more buzz?

They released this in more than 3x the amount of theaters A Serious Man got. I think the subject matter just doesn't speak to Academy voters at all.

[Ezee E]

They had multiple concerts, and the biggest presentation that I've experienced at film festivals. As number8 said, it just didn't speak to the voters.

They may have put too much emphasis on the music now that I think about it.

[ledfloyd]

Man, this one grabbed me with the very first frame and never let me go. Maybe the best thing the Coens have ever done?

[number8]

I prefer this and Serious Man Coens to crime movie Coens.

[Ezee E]

Nah.

[Gizmo]

Thought this was a beautifully put together piece of meh. I know it's not always about the destination, but the journey, but this felt like it journeyed into nothingness. I enjoyed watching it, but other than the beautiful music, I got nothing from it.

[dreamdead]

I think most of my enjoyment of it comes from how the film plays with the myth of Sisyphus, with Llewyn constantly struggling against a society that he simultaneously abhors and desires, and the final reveal of Dylan, who promises to radically shake up that never-ending struggle so that Llewyn might find some small comfort. And if that comfort does lead him to Akron, or adopting the cat, then the film does have an aim beyond repetition and suffering.

I too get a huge A Serious Man vibe from this one. That one is more clearly masterful than this to me currently, but Coen films usually rise is esteem when I rewatch them.

[Dukefrukem]

This is way better than a Serious Man. But I share Gizmo's thoughts on the journey/satisfaction results.

[Bosco B Thug]

I thought this was one of the Coens' most successful attempts at being enigmatic. It begins like a sort of Nashville, with lots of prickly personalities tempered and commented on by on-stage performance. The cat subplot devolves into a rather predictable metaphor for Davis's willingness to connect with others, but for a little while it's a funny irony, that Davis treats cats as a more manageable intermediate for relationships than humans, despite the fact cats are the most reticent of all living creatures.

Does a great job couching its overarching themes in the everyday exchanges of the character, most importantly Llewyn and Jean's snippy conversation about how the world exists along simplifying dichotomies (asshole or not-asshole, successful or unsuccessful, lucrative or non-lucrative, be a soloist or be a duo act, etc.), both characters denying or supporting that statement at opposite times in their argument (with emphasis on Llewyn's accidental contradiction). This is the opposite film of American Hustle - that film about how the world is gray, this film about how the world (or the entertainment business) is black and white.

Liked it a lot. Such a relaxing view, most of all. The film is just perfectly lulling, where even though Llewyn's erratic and a dick, we know we're never being set up for a bad performance.

[Irish]

Liked this a lot but agree with others who said the metaphors were too on point.

The first hour in NYC was amazing & I'd recommend it based on that alone. I loved the way it was shot (all those claustrophobic, one-point perspectives). Dug the dry, dry sense of humor too. I almost wished it had ended there.

The road trip was .. Meh. I agree with Spinal in that it's a clever way of physically demonstrating Llewyn's commitment to craft and his struggle to get where he wants to be but ... I also agree with Qrazy in that Goodman's character & perf were a distraction. Quirky bullshit for the sake of quirky bullshit.

Best moment in the film was the audition with Grossman. Davis sings another melancholic, heartfelt tune and before the sound goes out of the room, Abraham answers him with a "I don't see a lot of money here." And Llewyn, like a pro, just sucks it up. Perfect.

[Derek]

The road trip was .. Meh. I agree with Spinal in that it's a clever way of physically demonstrating Llewyn's commitment to craft and his struggle to get where he wants to be but ... I also agree with Qrazy in that Goodman's character & perf were a distraction. Quirky bullshit for the sake of quirky bullshit.

But it's absolutely crucial to the musical era in which the film is set, which is when rock 'n roll music, and soon folk music, would start to take over the prevalence that jazz had at the time. Goodman's character is a relic from a time and music that is being phased out while Llewyn is equally unfortunate for being a genius in a genre that hasn't caught on yet aside from the underground. They're at opposite ends of the spectrum, but they share the same fate.

[Irish]

But it's absolutely crucial to the musical era in which the film is set, which is when rock 'n roll music, and soon folk music, would start to take over the prevalence that jazz had at the time. Goodman's character is a relic from a time and music that is being phased out while Llewyn is equally unfortunate for being a genius in a genre that hasn't caught on yet aside from the underground. They're at opposite ends of the spectrum, but they share the same fate.

That's a fair point -- at least, I get the intent. I don't agree it was necessary because the film is, up until and after that point, largely unconcerned with the musical era. Instead it's nicely focused on individuals.

Then there's the execution: In a movie that's so measured and careful and thoughtful with its characters, Goodman's role feels sloppy. It feels like Coen-by-the-numbers. He's too big, too broad, too ridiculous, too flamboyant. That guy felt like he could have stepped right out of Barton Fink or O Brother without issue. So the tone is off, and it remains off until he's gone.

I don't think Llewlyn's fate had much to do with the era. I felt it had to do with his choices. Hs obviously skilled. He can get gigs, and gigs are offered to him throughout the picture. But he's so disturbed by Mike's death, he holds whatever talent he has in both hands and refuses to let go of it. His failure isn't due shifting tastes or missed opportunities. His failure is due to his complete unwillingness to compromise on any level.

That's why, I think, he yells at the woman in stage at the Gaslight at the end of the picture. He's disturbed that someone would be willing to give themselves away in order to get in front of any audience, because that's the one thing he cannot do.

[Sven]

Mulligan's character is much broader than Goodman's.

[Pop Trash]

Mike D'Angelo had a lot of the same misgivings re: Goodman's character. It didn't bother me. He seemed like a classic Coen Brothers character and him and the silent Beat guy brought a lot of humor.

I wish Mulligan's character wasn't so 1-D though.

[Bosco B Thug]

I was fine with Mulligan's character and accepted the vulgar schtick, just another bit of Coen schtick. I can also accept the "setback to the gender" schtick (even though saying that is the actual setback to the gender). Goodman I found more soured a routine (despite his allegorical purposes).

[Grouchy]

Loved this. It's clearly more along the lines of A Serious Man than anything else the Coens have done since, although I'm not sure at the moment which one I prefer.

I don't see why so many of you fall into the "Llewyn is a dick" thing. To me he's the victim of his own lifestyle and convictions, specially since it's implied that he might have paid for an abortion for Pappi's son.

I also love many of the ambiguities, like how we don't ever understand if the last scene is a repeat or a new, similar scene in Llewyn's life. For a while there it even led me to think that the "guy in a suit" was Mike's ghost which might have been a little too ambiguous.

But, like I said, wonderful film. I'm so glad the Coens never lost their goddamn mojo.

[baby doll]

Eli Wallach looks damn good for his age.

[DavidSeven]

Prototypical three star Coen movie. A solid effort by any comparative measure, but also something you feel like the Coens could make in their sleep. The use of Mulligan as little more than a vessel for conflict is unfortunate. The cat is just a basic plot device with a relatively lazy literary reference thrown in to distract you from the fact that a lot of the film's moment-to-moment drama is being manufactured by a rambunctious cat. Didn't really mind it, though the literal shout out to Ulysses was kind of an eye-roller.

Film's virtues include a lived-in and textured vibe, a certain eccentricity in tone that only the Coens can deliver, and Oscar Isaac's performance. I enjoyed the music, too.

[dreamdead]

Can't really disagree with that take. I rewatched this last weekend and found my admiration for its willingness to show Llewyn becoming a contemptuous ass interesting, but found less there in terms of Llewyn standing as some misbegotten genius. Instead, while he's more sympathetic as a character on a rewatch, he's also a bit less talented and more desperate.

The music smartly elevates this film, but the rewatch didn't open up much in the way of layers or character. Just a few stray references to Llewyn being eternally crap from Mulligan--interesting, but not much more insightful.

[Irish]

It's not just Mulligan; every woman in the film is a shrew or an object or derision.

Which is odd because the Coens run the gamut from great female characters (Raising Arizona, Fargo) to decidedly less so (Lebowski) to virtually non-existent (Barton Fink, Miller's Crossing).

[Grouchy]

Why should female characters not be shrews or objects of derision? I don't get your line of thinking.

Also, there are solid female characters in all those Coen movies you mention. I don't really understand the distinction you make.

[ledfloyd]

I'm not sure Llewyn needs to be a "misbegotten genius" for the film to work. I like it as a portrait of the agony of someone who is really good at something, but not quite good enough.

[Spinal]

I'm not sure Llewyn needs to be a "misbegotten genius" for the film to work. I like it as a portrait of the agony of someone who is really good at something, but not quite good enough.

It's a Salieri story. The Coens gave us a big hint by casting Salieri.

[Spinal]

Why should female characters not be shrews or objects of derision? I don't get your line of thinking.

Also, there are solid female characters in all those Coen movies you mention. I don't really understand the distinction you make.

I don't understand the criticism either as it pertains to this film. Are the male characters painted in a significantly better light? Isn't this consistent with Llewyn's myopia and narcissism?

[Irish]

It's a Salieri story. The Coens gave us a big hint by casting Salieri.

I liked this observation the first time you made it (at least as far as in-joke casting goes). This time I'm a little unsure what you mean. What's a "Salieri movie"?

[Spinal]

I liked this observation the first time you made it (at least as far as in-joke casting goes). This time I'm a little unsure what you mean. What's a "Salieri movie"?


I'm not sure Llewyn needs to be a "misbegotten genius" for the film to work. I like it as a portrait of the agony of someone who is really good at something, but not quite good enough.

.

[Irish]

No, that's not right.

:P

[Raiders]

Hmmm... yeah, I don't know that Salieri is the right angle, mostly because that character was equally about his belief that Mozart was not deserving of his musical genius as much as he was about his jealousy over his own shortcomings.

I am not sure I believe the Coens were after Llewyn's lack of musical genius since that's not really the issue at heart as I saw it. Rather, it was much more about Llewyn's inability to establish any emotional connection with those around him, including his audience. The spectre of his former partner looms over the entire film so heavily and weighs on him and everyone around him (from Mulligan's sad quip to Abraham's prescient remark to the uneasy moments with the kind parental-esque family). His artistic and emotional development are completely stunted and it is extremely effective through beautifully rendered bookends of the film showing his sad, frustrated and static existence.

Marvelous, spectacular film. Agreed with number8, this and Serious Man are Coens at their best.

[Izzy Black]

I can see the connection to the Salieri character in Amadeus, but I also see some important differences. Inside Llewyn Davis is not so much concerned with mediocrity as it is with the specific sense of inertia, disillusionment, and defeat of its main character. Amadeus, styled more as a kind of tragedy or high drama than a mood piece, plays up the active emotions of dramatic conflict; to wit, the jealousy, the envy, the resentment, and the cynicism. It also emphasizes Salieri's limited talent relative to the genius of Mozart.

Conversely, as a more meditative New Wave styled film, Llewyn actually downplays active dramatic conflict since the character's emotional disconnection and detachment from others is the central psychological focus or dilemma in the film (whereas Salieri is driven by a kind of emotional obsession and attachment to Mozart). In addition, rather than being depicted as someone with inferior talent who is unable to achieve greatness, the Coens draw more on traditions of black comedy and theater of the absurd that ironically presents a man that's actually superior in talent to a lot of those around him yet is unable to achieve their level of success (which also turns on a running commentary on the music industry, particularly isolating those ironies on the folk rock boom where 'authenticity' was fetishized and comodified in a way that only resulted in a situation of rampant inauthenticity). In fact, you might say Llewyn, in various ways, has more in common with Mozart in Amadeus rather than Salieri (commercial success of mediocrity against the economic destitution of superior artistic talent).

In sum, I see the similarities in the two characters in that they both face defeat and disappointment, but I see dissimilarities in how they arrive there as one sees defeat with mediocrity where the other ironically sees defeat even with talent.

[Irish]

I just read the strangest interpretation of this movie from a "top critic" at Rotten Tomatoes. (The site is under a loose paywall, but if you're not a frequent visitor you should be able to read this just fine).

http://www.flickfilosopher.com/2014/05/spoiler-alert-whats-really-going-inside-llewyn-davis.html

Llewyn is dead and stuck in a sort of "time-loop" purgatory, replaying events from the last week in his life. One of the commenters suggested that the Merchant Marine subplot symbolizes Charon the Boatman.

That shit is seriously hair brained-- fan theory from a serious critic? WTF?

[Grouchy]

I just read the strangest interpretation of this movie from a "top critic" at Rotten Tomatoes. (The site is under a loose paywall, but if you're not a frequent visitor you should be able to read this just fine).

http://www.flickfilosopher.com/2014/05/spoiler-alert-whats-really-going-inside-llewyn-davis.html

Llewyn is dead and stuck in a sort of "time-loop" purgatory, replaying events from the last week in his life. One of the commenters suggested that the Merchant Marine subplot symbolizes Charon the Boatman.

That shit is seriously hair brained-- fan theory from a serious critic? WTF?
I don't think that review is so wild when you consider that the Coens made films with very fantastical subtle subtexts before, such as Barton Fink and The Man Who Wasn't There. There is something a bit unnatural about the way this latest film is structured - not many movies repeat their opening scenes verbatim.

[Raiders]

I love it when thoughtful films get reduced to guessing narrative trivia.