Reverberates with life, intimate, sad, and darkly funny

Rating: Null/10 (31 December 2019)

The power of Llweyn Davis rests on dramatic irony, That a film can be so beautiful, intimate and resonant with the audience, but in the world of the film, Llewyn can't seem to catch a break, struggling at every turn to convince the commercial music world that his art has value, that he has value. Therein lies the black humor of the film and it is encapsulated in one specific scene, where Llewyn performs in Chicago in order to secure a record deal. Here we find just one man performing for another. Llewyn reveals his soul in a haunting folk melody. The camera slowly creeps in, until nothing exists but Llewyn and his music. The camera then creeps in on the music manager, until it's us and his eyes, dead focused on Llewyn. The performance ends, the viewer enraptured, and then the music manager remarks, "I don't see a lot of money here." It's a brutal and ironic punch to the gut for both Llewyn and the audience. But there is also a redeeming message here. That your soul, your art, is valuable beautiful and incorruptible, despite what you may have come to believe about yourself by how the world treats you.