A beautiful, charming, fairytale of New York

Rating: 9/10 (21 October 2015)

The Coen brothers are maybe best known for their action thrillers, such as 'No Country For Old Men' and 'Fargo', or possibly their romping comedy 'The Big Lebowski'. In 'Inside Llewyn Davis', however, I saw something entirely different: a quieter, almost silent, tale of character - a sad and yet funny film about a week in the life of a young New York folk singer (excellently portrayed by Oscar Isaac).
The title "Inside Llewyn Davis' is a curious one. It seems to promise an insight into the understanding of the principal character, and this is exactly what we get. In the opening scenes, I saw a charismatic and mysterious character, but as the plot rolls on, I began to learn more and more about this character, and also like this character more and more. This is the genius of the film: the protagonist is an excellent example of a character who is not lovable - in fact at times he seems detestable - but he gets such a bad hand that we as the audience are inclined to feel sympathetic.
Another aspect of the film that is completely nailed by the Coens is the tone. It seems like a dull take on a somewhat dull life at the beginning, but by the end of the first act of the film I began to realise what was not a dull mood but one brimming with character: sometimes the mood was soulful, sometime it was sad, and at others it was plain heartbreaking. This mood was helped along by a series of aspects and devices: first and foremost, I must talk about the cat. The use of the cat to describe the situation of the plot and to brilliantly convey humour may just be the loudest and brightest example of the genius of Joel and Ethan.
The cat isn't all that the writing of the film excels in. During the scenes of dialogue, I felt as though they were real, creeping upon me and connecting with me deeply. They were emotional, devastating and hilarious all at once. The script was helped, of course, by a truly magnificent performance from Oscar Isaac - frankly, it was a crime that he did not receive so much as a nod from the academy. I should add to this that boy, can he sing! All songs in this film were performed live, which I cannot acclaim enough and adds a whole new dimension to the screenplay.
The other major way that this film builds such brilliant tone is through the cinematography. I expected something good from Bruno Delbonnel, but what I got was sensational. Perfectly capturing every scene in every frame is a true challenge in film making, and Delbonnel has done it as well as anybody could have. Again, I must refer to the academy: I am so glad they nominated the cinematography, but I thought, although Birdman was the better film, that Delbonnel deserved the Oscar over Lubezki.
The main criticism that most of the audience are having from this film is "What actually happened?" which in some ways I can understand: the story literally finished in the same place it started. However, I believe that the people saying this have missed the point of the film completely. 'Inside Llewyn Davis' is a journey into, and with the character, of Davis, and therefore the audience should not require plot development or, at a stretch, much character development: I was compelled to watch and re-watch this film because of the technical aspects and characters of the move. A good plot does not a good film make.
Inside Llewyn Davis is a quiet but masterful work from the Coen brothers, as they continue to hop to and in between many genres - in fact, in may just be one of their best. I would ultimately recommend the film to any fan of Joel and Ethan Coen, or any fan of film in general, with this triumph of script and character.