Brilliant

Rating: Null/10 (15 March 2015)

The Coen Brothers have created another brilliant film, shot in black and white, with Inside Llewyn Davis. They take us into Llewyn's life for one week, a very long, gut-wrenching week of agony as this young man tries to deal with life the best way he knows how.
Llewyn's best friend and his music partner, Mike, dies suddenly and unexpectedly. Llewyn doesn't know how to deal with the pain and the emptiness of his loss. So he doesn't. He bottles up his grief and continues his search for musical recognition in 1961 Greenwich Village. Davis depends on the kindness of others during his financial and emotional low period. He gets devastating news that his friend's wife, Jean, is pregnant. She demands that he pay for the abortion. The amount was a hundred dollars, but it may as well have been a million because Llewyn is flat broke. He complies with her demand and cuts a novelty record. It was a humiliating experience and one that will be in his music history for the rest of his life, but he did what he considered to be the right thing by getting the money for Jean.
Set backs continue to pile up on Llewyn Davis as he continues his quest for folk singing recognition. He learns many hard lessons about false promises, advancements made by others based on sexual attraction and not talent, consequences of a few words spoken in anger, and many others.
Oscar Isaac gives a first-rate performance as Llewyn. Carey Mulligan delivers a good performance as well. The cinematography captures the time and place of the action perfectly. With many excellent films to their credit, The Coen brothers have a beautiful film in Llewyn Davis.