It’s 1961, it’s winter and we’re in New York. We’re in the Gaslight Cafe in good old Greenwich Village, to mention the exact location. A bearded guy is sitting on a chair with a guitar in his hand. From his mouth sensitive words depart, sang with a hoarse and husky voice. Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) is performing and already in the first minutes of the film we see (or better said: hear) that he is deeply talented.
Yet Llewyn Davis’ life story is not an easy route to
fame. Somehow, he doesn’t seem to sell many records and he struggles to make
money. This is especially the case since his partner, with whom he had great
success singing simple folk songs, threw himself off a bridge. Davis travels
from couch to couch and doesn’t even have a winter coat to survive the harsh
winter in New York City. Moreover, all simple things in life seem to go wrong.
After a night on the couch of his older friends the Gorfeins, their red cat
gets locked out and so Davis has to take care of the cat, whose name is unknown
(reference to ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ here, my own probably, but still!).
Davis takes the cat to his friends, the couple Jim (Justin Timberlake) and Jean
(Carey Mulligan). Jean is furious at Davis for bringing the cat and for asking
to sleep on their couch a-gain. A bit later, it turns out Jean is pregnant and
it is possible the baby is Llewyn’s.
An abortion has to be arranged for Jean. Davis agrees
to pay for it and schedule it as well, because he knows a doctor from another
time he made a girl pregnant. Jean is still extremely upset and calls Davis a
loser, an asshole and many other shitty things. Davis himself can’t stop
swearing either, for instance when he’s having dinner at the Gorfein’s place; he gets an
argument with Mrs. Gorfein and insults her intensely. He’s not welcome on their
couch anymore, obviously, so he seeks shelter at another singer's (Al Cody) place. Here, he
hears that two of Cody’s friends are leaving for Chicago and Davis decides to
travel along. The friends are the quiet beat poet Johnny Five (Garrett Hedlund,
how I love this guy!) and the mean jazz musician Roland Turner (John Goodman,
who we know from ‘The Big Lebowski’). On the road, Turner overdoses in the
restroom of a restaurant and Five gets arrested.
And so Davis is stuck alone again and decides to go to
Chicago anyway. He visits the legendary Bud Grossman, a producer, and sings a
song for him. Grossman is not interested and this gets Davis even more
depressed. Despite always having been self-assured, Davis loses faith of
becoming a successful folk singer and wants to return to his old job, shipping.
Unfortunately, this isn’t possible either because he’s lost his licence. Back
in New York, Jean has set up another performance for Davis in the Gaslight Cafe
and so he sings his raw songs one more time, eventually making place for a familiar
folk singer, which is obviously Bob Dylan in his younger days. How Davis will
survive, we will never know, for he is one of the many artists meaning to
become famous but never made it as far as, say, Dylan. Life is a struggle and
it definitely is, and was, for all those talented but unfortunate artists in
New York.
Inside Llewyn Davis is written and directed by the
Coen Brothers, Joen and Ethan. As you’d expect, the film is (partly) based on a
folk singer who really existed: Dave Van Ronk. Though Llewyn Davis is a
fictional character, the Coen Brothers used Van Ronk’s autobiography and songs
as inspiration. All songs, with one exception, are recorded live and really
sang by Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake and Adam Driver. Quite
an achievement!
In my opinion, the Coen Brothers did a great job
creating a film based on a dark story, the life of a singer in New York who has
little success and suffers a lot, yet not making it too heavy-hearted. The film
is full of light humour, which is alternated with all of the abusive words.
There’s one time though, while Davis is in Chicago trying to convince Grossman
of his talent, when the misery is becoming a bit too much. Davis got stuck
alone on the road, after one of his fellow travellers died and the other
arrested, the weather is horrible and he has no money. At this point, we really
wish he had some luck, even if it was just a little, and his talent was
recognized. Because after all, we can all see how talented the guy is. Himself
included.
Most of the time, however, the dark atmosphere
perfectly suits the story. No overwhelmingly beautiful sights of New York, just
wintery, grey and misty sights of Greenwich Village. Yes, New York isn’t all
beauty, New York is cold too and that’s the way reality is. This film is
definitely realistic and that’s also because of the art of acting. Especially
Oscar Isaac is magnificent as Llewyn Davis. With his big beard and grumpy
glance he takes us into that pessimistic and dusk mood in which he resides all
the time. Carey Mulligan is convincing as always, though I would love to see
her in a more carefree part for a change. I’ve seen most of the films she made
so far and she always plays this somewhat damaged character. As for Justin
Timberlake, this is the first film I’ve seen him in and, though this is also
due to his part, he comes off a bit shallow. I don’t think this part really
gave him the chance to show us what he has, but I’m still pretty hesitant when
it comes to Justin Timberlake as an actor.
To say it shortly and simple, this film definitely
didn’t disappoint me. My expectations were high, since I love the Coen
Brothers, since I love the folk scene of the sixties and since I love Greenwich
Village, New York, but I enjoyed myself marvellously in the theatre (I was
alone for your information). The film is quite dark, yet this was fitting most
of the time. I do advice you to only go see it if you’re really interested in
music, in history and if you can deal with some misery. If so, I’d say: grab
your bag, see if your cat stays inside and let’s go!
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