REVIEW: INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS

Inside Llewyn Davis is one of the saddest films I’ve seen in quite awhile.  The tale of a gifted but remarkably unsuccessful and unlucky folk singer and guitar player, it follows him through just one week in 1961 that seems like an eternity for all the misfortune that befalls him.   The guy just can’t catch a break, from a cat that sneaks out the door, as the door locks behind him, to a pregnant ex-girlfriend, to the bitter cold weather he has to endure without a heavy coat, to a record label that possibly swindles him out of what few royalties he does manage to earn.

There is no happy ending here, just one relentless thing after another that keeps him down, no matter how hard he struggles to get up again.

Oscar Isaac is Llewyn, and he does a remarkable job portraying the artist who sings and plays guitar beautifully, yet because of his prickly personality and just plain bad luck, can’t get any traction.

This is an odd but well made film, however if you want to get uplifted and cheerful, try a comedy instead.

The film was made by the brother filmmaker team of Ethan and Joel Cohen, who also did No Country for Old Men, The Big Lebowski, etc.  They produce high quality, unusual films that are often also often somewhat bleak.  The brothers share producing and directing tasks from film to film.

This is a rather short, small film.  It focuses on just one week in his life, and the film itself runs only 104 minutes, with key scenes repeating and looping back in time.  There is one fascinating glimpse of a Bob Dylan-like character that is playing in the same club where Llewyn struggles to get some attention.  What does he have that I don’t, you can almost hear Llewyn thinking.

Oscar Isaac, who plays Llewyn, had strong music experience before this film, playing lead guitar and singing in his band the Blinking Underdogs.   He has had other significant film roles, and is an equally capable singer and actor, not always the case.  He makes a good leading man, although the viewer is frustrated by his continuous lack of even a little luck in this role.  Mr. Isaac graduated from Julliard in 2005, and has been doing quite well since in both music and acting roles.

I would recommend the film to music buffs and those who like to see Justin Timberlake in another light, but if you want to see something uplifting and escapist, this is not going to work for you. However, the film is well crafted and deserves mention among the Oscars, but I would be surprised if it won for best picture.  The competition is steep this year, and this film, while well done, just doesn’t have the gravitas of some of the others in contention.

It’s almost like a long music video with words.  T Bone Burnett is Executive Music Producer, and does weave his magic here as in the TV show Nashville (a favorite of mine).  His specialty is taking perhaps mundane material and elevating it with his high quality musicianship.  Still, I’m glad I saw this film, and do recommend it to my music loving friends, but perhaps not many others.

Even my daughter, who I saw it with, said she was sad after watching the film.  The scenes with the cat are particularly emotional, but perhaps they hit me a bit harder since I’m a diehard pet lover, we have five pets in our family.

All in all, another interesting project from the fascinating filmmaking team of Ethan and Joel Cohen, but it won’t be remembered as their very best.