Oscar Isaac

Carey Mulligan

Justin Timberlake

Ethan Phillips

Robin Bartlett

Max Casella

Jerry Grayson

Jeanine Serralles

Adam Driver

Stark Sands

John Goodman

Garrett Hedlund

Alex Karpovsky

Helen Hong

Bradley Mott

Michael Rosner

Bonnie Rose

Jack O'Connell

Ricardo Cordero

Sylvia Kauders

Ian Jarvis

Diane Findlay

Ian Blackman

Steve Routman

Susan Blommaert

Amelia McClain

James Colby

Charlotte Booker

Mike Houston

Sam Haft

F. Murray Abraham

Jason Shelton

Frank Ridley

John Ahlin

Jake Ryan

Declan Bennett

Erik Hayden

Daniel Everidge

Jeff Takacs

Nancy Blake

Stephen Payne

Roberto Lopez

Benjamin Pike

Marcus Mumford

Joel Coen

Ethan Coen

Jess Gonchor

Mary Zophres

Scott Rudin

Bruno Delbonnel

Robert Graf

Ron Halpern

Olivier Courson

Ellen Chenoweth

Deborah Jensen

Nicki Ledermann

Dimitra Bixby

Zach Selter

Alex Lemke

Kat St. John

Michael Queen

Jason Harris

Peter F. Kurland

Alison Cohen Rosa

Thomas Johnston

Jery Hewitt

Skip Lievsay

Greg Orloff

Jen Monnar

Todd Kasow

T Bone Burnett

Susan Bode Tyson

Mark Hagerman

Nancy Capper Au

Nathan J. Busch II

Michael Kriston

Matt Lake

Betsy Magruder

John Silvestri

Marko Costanzo

George A. Lara

Sarah Dowland

Edward Gabree

Jennifer Lamb

Mark Bero

Steven Kirshoff

Maceo Bishop

Amelia Rasche McCarthy

Debbie DeLisi

Megan Asbee

Fionnuala Lynch

Paul Urmson

Joseph A. Alfieri Jr.

Drama

Music

Inside Llewyn Davis

StudioCanal

Anton Capital Entertainment

France

United Kingdom

English

depression

new york city

guitar

winter

subway

pregnancy

overdose

dark comedy

melancholy

folk music

aspiring singer

grief

hitchhiker

cafe

recording

self expression

greenwich village

merchant marine

1960s

couchsurfing

bleak

struggling musician

death of friend

At first, I strongly identified with Llewyn Davis' struggles — I think you'd be hard pressed to find a musician who doesn't — but by the film's end, I realize not only how many of those struggles are self-inflicted, I feel as if Llewyn is going to cycle through them many more times before things pick up or bottom out. Musically, Llewyn comes across as scrappy and soulful. He's just the person I'd want singing those sad, world-weary folk songs, at least compared to the cleaner- cut performers he meets throughout the film. And yet, that soul seems to come from tragedies (the suicide of his one-time musical partner) and anxieties (the relationships with family and former lovers) he's too stubborn or poor of spirit to work through properly. He keeps floating by thanks to some enablers. Couches are continually offered for him to sleep on, even after Llewyn insults their owners. A club owner still books him as a performer, even after he is forcibly removed from the club for heckling other performers. It's hard realizing you're in a vicious cycle while you're still inside of it, trying to keep your head above water. It's even harder when connecting with people is as difficult as it is for Llewyn. I feel like the Coen brothers understand that, take it seriously, and yet, from that, created something that made me laugh and engrossed me.

CinemaSerf

Aspiring folk musician "Llewyn" (Oscar Isaac) finds himself in Greenwich Village in New York during the winter of 1961 trying to make a living from his art. He's a well known face in the clubs having been part of a jobbing duo for many-a-year, but now he is finding it much harder to crack the scene as a solo artist. His aspiration has an habit of blinding him, though, and his somewhat erratic behaviour stresses his relationships with fellow folkies "Jim" (Justin Timberlake) and "Jean" (Carey Mulligan) on whose couches he finds himself increasingly relying. To add to his woes, his manager "Mel" (Jerry Grayson) isn't really much cop and his eponymous album isn't exactly flying off the shelves. "I know", he thinks, a change of scenery. A chance meeting with the enigmatic "Turner" (John Goodman) and his word-shy driver "Johnny" (Garrett Hedlund) takes him to an interview in Chicago with the talent-spotting "Bud" (F. Murray Abraham). Might any of this help our budding Bob Dylan make any progress? The drama itself here is really intimately presented, with some tight photography helping to convey the emotion maelstrom this man is living through as he tries to reconcile his almost puritanical search for perfection with his growing appreciation of the real - and not so accommodating - world. There's a great little song with himself, Timberlake and the sparingly used, but on-form, Adam Driver ("Al") that shows the latter has some solid musical timing, and a good sense of humour too! This looks like a labour of love - not just for the Coen's, but for Isaac who genuinely seems to sweat the role. It's a wee bit wordy, but the ensemble ensure that the segments of his life and travels in search of something intangible become and remain engaging to watch. Oh, and it's true - everyone else does sing Dylan songs better than he does himself!

Inside Llewyn Davis( 2013)

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A review by kineticandroid

Written by kineticandroid on Sat Jun 21 2014

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