Isaac brings a realistic Davis to life, but the segments don't combine to form anything greater than an ordinary character study

Rating: 6/10 (2 July 2019)

A question that's always fascinated me is: if you made a movie with all excellent technical elements - great cinematography, strong acting, good direction, and a realistic slice of life script about an ordinary person with no greater ideas in play, how would it be received? This doesn't sound too different to me from this movie, or from Boyhood, and yet both were universally acclaimed. While the quality certainly provides a floor, I do think there have to be some story, ideas, or characters to engage the audience to make it a great movie. In Inside Llewyn Davis, we get the picture of a struggling 60s musician. Isaac is extremely impressive both in the musical scenes and in portraying his complex character. We get several story threads - the cat, Jean, John Goodman in the car, and then his music and career at the end. I didn't feel that these threads tied together to create a defining idea of motif. It's undeniably well made, but is it enjoyable or do I feel any emotional attachment to Davis? Not quite, and honestly I don't even have that great a sense of his defining characteristics, aside from struggling to get by, making people mad, and caring about music. It's a slice of life movie that doesn't go anywhere or do anything new for me.