Play it Again, Llewyn

Rating: 8/10 (25 October 2015)

The Coen brother's Inside Llewyn Davis tells the story of its titular character and his woes on the Greenwich Village folk scene during a week in 1961. Starring Oscar Isaac as Llewyn Davis, the Coens have fashioned a character whose social inadequacies and inability to communicate are his downfall in life and on the music scene. He's talented, but despite the kindness of others, remains stuck in a cycle of despair that leads him from one couch to another. Davis is one of the Coen's more aloof and unlikable central characters; throughout the film he's rarely inviting and, in the snubs and scowls at his friends and colleagues, he's difficult to gauge and remains largely impenetrable. This may be a drawback for some, but I found his story to have a strong allure, especially with the Homeric narrative and vibrant undertones that reveal themselves in the way one may become familiar with a new album. The cinematography is quite splendid here also, and is important to mention, because the colour palette and use of browns and greens make this film look like an old album cover. This is also reflected in the framing of some scenes, whilst there's a certain nod to The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan; something Cameron Crowe also done in Vanilla Sky. In support are Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake and John Goodman, all of whom are memorable in small roles -- Mulligan and Timberlake play a singing couple called Jim and Jean, with the smiling and well-liked Jim being very much the antithesis of Davis. Even when Jim isn't present in the film, he's spoken about in such a way that it's easy to appreciate the subtleties of Timberlake's performance and how it resonates against Isaac's. Mulligan is more scathing, being almost as harsh as Davis, but with good reason, and although Goodman's role is small, it's pivotal given the choices present when Davis is given a touch of his own medicine. Importantly, the music here is quite splendid throughout -- some songs are written and performed with tongue firmly in cheek, such as Please Mr. Kennedy, whilst there's sincerity present given the quality of the music's production and the songs having been sung live in every instance bar one. Inside Llewyn Davis is one of the Coen brothers finest films to date, which is no mean feat, although it's not their most accessible and, much like it's central character, there's depths to be found despite an aloof nature.