Defies all expectations

Rating: 10/10 (23 January 2014)

I have been shamelessly recommending their films to everyone I have met for the past half a decade, most of them gave them a watch and hated their films, now I have learned a lesson and try not to recommend their films to anyone. It's surely not everyone's cup of tea. I have been earnestly waiting for Inside Llewyn Davis from ever since I first saw its trailer about a year back. At first instance I shrieked at the idea of Coen brothers making a musical. Dark comedy and musicals does not really go together, does it?. They surely must have compensated on either the musical part or their staple dark comedy. After watching the film (twice) I am bemused at how they have proved me completely wrong. They made a film which is so very much a Coen brother film, and yet an absolutely brilliant musical. The dark comedy, although not that dark at times manages to get better on the 2nd watch and is fascinating. The film is about a folk musician called Llewyn Davis. It is set in the 1960s,an era which gave birth to one of the best country/folk musicians of all time, and ILD is surely a homage to that fact. Llewyn Davis is no rock star , neither is he astutely talented, rather he can be called an underdog, sleeping on couches ,kicked around by people and record companies. His music partner has recently committed suicide and he is failing to come to terms to a solo career. The film chronicles a week in his life. Llewyn Davis is played to perfection by Oscar Issac. The film has a fantastic ensemble cast which gives it the quirky feel it has got. Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake and John Goodman are the most notable of the small but interesting characters in the film. The music from T Bone Burnett transcends all realms and takes you back to the 1960s. As it is the case of many of their films, ILD also has no background music ,the only sources of music are from live performances from various characters in the film. They are mixed in so seamlessly that you don't even notice the background music missing. Cinematography is very well done here.Strangely enough Roger Deakins did not shoot this , hope their long collaboration with the Coens does not come to an end. Bruno Delbonnel shot this and the soft touch he has lend to the film added to the fact that this is in it's basic essence a musical. Deakins may have done a better job but Delbonnel did not disappoint, in fact at parts it was brilliant ILD is funny and depressing at the same time, a combination which can be devastating in the hands of people not belonging to the class of The Coens.You leave feeling amused and sad at the same time.As Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian rightly said the Coens have hit this one out of the park.