For every one of their blockbusters (True Grit, No Country For Old Men) or every one of their movies with grandiose, almost absurd plots (Fargo, Miller’s Crossing), there are the more subtle, lesser-watched but still critically acclaimed movies (A Serious Man, The Man Who Wasn’t There) by director brothers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. In the mold of this last type of genre comes their first effort in three years, the simple yet thought-provoking Inside Llewyn Davis, a film that stars Oscar Isaac (Drive, Robin Hood) in, perhaps, the surprise performance of the year and the role that will land this talented young actor many more opportunities.

The scene is the Greenich Music Folk Scene of 1961 New York City. It is the dead of winter. Llewyn is a broke folk singer/songwriter/guitarist who dreams of making enough to afford a living but lives gig to gig. He spends his days looking for shows to play and nights performing before bumming on the various couches of what few friends he has for sleep before starting the process all over again. He’s good at what he does, but he’s not great. While others are thriving, Llewyn can’t seem to be able to find a way to break in. We learn early on that he was the partner of a semi-successful duo that has since broken up. They have at least one record that they recorded. We don’t learn why he and his partner Mike broke up until later, but we do know that Llewyn can’t seem to escape the shadows of the accomplishments of what the duo was able to accomplish.

The movie is more a character study than it is a story. We follow Llewyn around for about a week of his life. He is easily frustrated, unhappy, selfish, and irresponsible. At first, I don’t think these characteristics are necessarily presented in the forefront because the first scene of this film shows Llewyn performing an original song from start to end at the famous Gaslight Cafe. He is very, very good. The audience is engaged and gives him a round of applause afterward. While the crowd might not be as big as you would expect it to be, given the performance we had just seen, I think we still suspect that, vocationally, things are going well for Llewyn. But there is more than meets the eye with Llewyn, and the Coens do a great job showing that to us. Whether it’s the way Llewyn trivializes life-changing events, how he looks at something with belittlement, or his sense of entitlement, the Coens show us that he is a character with many layers.

While Llewyn is the story, there are lots of other character actors that make the film work. Most notably, these include Jean (Carey Mulligan – Drive, An Education), a woman who seems to hold so many bitter feelings towards Llewyn that we feel sorry for him, even though the feelings she has for him are deserved and her husband Jim (Justin Timberlake – The Social Network, Alpha Dog) an aspiring folk musician and kind friend to Llewyn. Timberlake’s role is very understated, but it’s perfect. He contrasts the abrasive, impractical, and live-in-this-moment Llewyn with his kindness, practicality, and desire to tuck away some money to start a family with Jean and move into a house in the suburbs.

While Llewyn is likable (at least to some degree), he is by no means lovable. I cheered for him more during the film than I did after viewing it. I think the Coens want to do this in all of their movies. I think they want you to ponder the film after its viewing. I think they want you to challenge your initial thoughts. I think they want you to discuss it with your friends. I think that maybe they want you to view the movie in an entirely different way after you’ve seen it. I did that with their film A Serious Man. I did not know what I was watching when I first saw that movie. I didn’t get the point. I didn’t know if I liked it or loved it. After replaying it in my head a few times, I realized I enjoyed and appreciated it. Some can say the same for Inside Llewyn Davis. I’m a big fan of movies that revolve around music. A couple of the top of my head that I can think of are Almost Famous and Once. These two great movies were made fabulous by incorporating multiple music performances played right in front of us… versions that weren’t rushed but were the essence of the film.

While we discover that Llewyn is truly a lost man in this movie, I’m not sure that there is much growth in his character, either positively or negatively. Sure this can be tough when the time frame of a movie is just eight days long. However, this is more than enough time for him to be an undependable and insensitive jerk at the end of the film as he was at the beginning. We all want him to change to be a better person, but he does not and shows no signs of moving in that direction. So in that aspect, it’s frustrating, but not every movie has a happy ending, and not every movie leaves you completely satisfied. Unfortunately, I think that’s the case with Inside Llewyn Davis.

Plot 9/10
Character Development 8/10
Character Chemistry 9/10
Acting 9.5/10
Screenplay 8/10
Directing  9.5/10 (masters at their craft whether I like all of their movies or not)
Cinematography 9/10
Sound 10/10 (perhaps the best use of sound in 2013)
Hook and Reel 9.5/10 (it won me over and let me go)
Universal Relevance 8.5/10
90%

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