When someone asks you “What is the next movie the Coen Brothers are making?”, a folk musician down on his luck in Greenwich Village before Bob Dylan would be near the top of your guesses right? Inside Llewyn Davis is not near the pantheon of the Coen Brothers work, but it is an earnest character study with Oscar worthy folk songs. It also contains one of the breakout roles of the year with its leading man, Oscar Isaac.
Llewyn (Isaac) is a musician’s musician in 1961 Greenwich Village. He wants to not be square and create poppy songs since he lives for his music. His partner just committed suicide over the George Washington bridge. He has no home: couch surfing is a way of life to him. His friend Jim (Justin Timberlake) is unaware that Llewyn has slept with his wife Jean (Carey Mulligan) and Jean is pregnant. He loses a cat and is forced to take it with him everywhere he goes. In short, he very much lives in the present, living paycheck to paycheck (in this case, gig to gig) trying to score big in his genre without sacrificing quality.
If you cannot tell already, this story, if you can call it that, meanders. Part of this is by design: having the story mirror Llewyn’s personality is clever and makes the audience feel like it is going through life inside his head. However, until the ending, because Inside Llewyn Davis has no clear direction, the movie feels a little disjointed and vignette based, with certain scenes working better than others. Some are very good (the pop song with Timberlake and Driver is a highlight) and some are mediocre, but the screenplay is always interesting. In true Coen fashion, they keep the timeline by use of the cat escapades, which I don’t think most other filmmakers could get away with.
The real highlight of Inside Llewyn Davis is the songs themselves. T Bone Burnett helped produce the songs that the actors mostly sang themselves (with help from Mumford and Sons). Each one is subtly different from the other, designed to illicit a slightly different emotion out of the listener. These characters live through their music, so the film makes sure every performance is seen in its entirety. This way, you can take in the expressions, movements, and connection each writer feels for their songs. Oh yeah, and they sound fantastic (especially the song used in the trailer).
John Goodman, F. Murray Abraham (who has the best appearance in the film), Adam Driver, Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, and Garrett Hedlund contribute their musical and acting talents to this film. Make no mistake though, this is a star making performance out of Oscar Isaac. Tortured musician characters have to walk that fine line of abrasive but earnest to be rooted for by the audience. Isaac easily walks that line, using his abrasiveness only in short bursts and mostly playing Llewyn as tired and frustrated. Yes, Llewyn is a dick, but he tries to make right with what limited focus and resources he has outside of his work. When he sings, you can feel the emotion he is supposed to feel ooze out of him and make you fall in love with the character all over again.
While imperfect, Inside Llewyn Davis is a love song to the folk genre and the characters that inhabit it. The Coen Brothers show their love through cats, trips to Chicago, Adam Driver in a cowboy hat, and punches in dark alleys. But as we know from those Coens, it could always be MUCH weirder.