Engimatic But Insightful Saga

Rating: 5/10 (16 May 2014)

The atmospheric, low-key Joel and Ethan Coen folk music saga "Inside Llewyn Davis" isn't like their better efforts. You won't want to watch this one as much as you might "O Brother Where Art Thou?," "True Grit," "Fargo," "No Country for Old Men," and "The Big Lebowski." Basically, this simple tale concerns a down-on-his-luck folk singer,(Oscar Isaac) who suffers from a case of perennial bad luck. He is broke for most of the time and lives off the generosity of others. His musical efforts haven't paid off and eventually he decides that strumming a guitar in a dark, smoky bar may not be his ultimate calling. At one point, he contemplates going back into the merchant marine but one of his friends has trashed his license. The action unfolds during a week of trials and tribulations for the vocalist. "Inside Llewyn Davis" isn't a fun film and the songs are not memorable at all. You won't feel better after you watch this polished effort. Nothing really changes in Llewyn's life. He has to arrange an abortion for one of his illicit lovers and in the process discovers that one of his former lovers didn't have an abortion but moved away to Akron and kept the child. Later, he learns that the man who owns the bar where he plays gigs has had sex with the lady for whom he is arranging an abortion. The most interesting thing about this soap opera of sorts is the yellow cat that escapes from a New York City apartment where he is sleeping on the couch. He searches for the elusive feline, finds it, gives it back to its owners only to learn that the city is not the same cat. When the film ends, the call—named Ulysses—has returned. At one point, during a highway trip through the great Northeast, Llewyn hits a cat but he doesn't find it. Llewyn isn't a role model. "Inside Llewyn Davis" isn't the kind of movie that will make you feel good unless you are a serious fan of indie-type, niche movies with minor characters that lack charisma. Everything that Llewyn tries to do fails, but he sticks with the guitar. As the movie is ending, while he is leaving one Greenwich Village nightspot, he spots another singer who resembles Bob Dylan singing, and the implication is his life may take an upswing because Dylan will make folk singers more prominent. John Goodman, Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, and Garrett Hedlund have supporting roles that don't amount to much in this character study epic.