Subtle Mastery of the Craft of Film Making

Rating: 9/10 (24 December 2013)

Like watching a Zen master flick a wrist, swishing a paintbrush, intonating silently ink to paper, seemingly haphazard, only to end with such perfect brushstrokes arranged, as if by a miracle, in the shape of a cat the Coen brothers have thrust Llewyn Davis into the cannon of their existentialist film stock. Inside Llewyn Davis insinuates a maddeningly frustrating folk performance existence on the title character. Like the drive up California's grapevine, it is nearly impossible to tell, while amidst the journey, that you are ascending a story arch. Only upon reflection can you see how far you've come, and indeed, the great heights achieved. As in life, there's no point in waiting for a punch line or a neatly revealed resolution - the point is the journey.