“Fare Thee Well [Dink’s Song]”, performed by Oscar Isaac
The Coen Brothers’ latest film follows the life of a struggling folk-singer in Greenwich Village during the 1960s. Through singing, we are invited into the emotions of Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac), a man trying to move on with his career after losing his singing partner. As far as the tone of this film goes, just as a warning, this isn’t an easy trip to the cinema. However, there are little moments to humor you as well as give you a distinct movie-going experience.
With little money at his disposal, his partner recently deceased, and his career as a professional folk singer looking pretty bleak, we see Davis constantly moving from apartment to apartment with colleagues, friends, and acquaintances. Throughout the film, we only hear of one tie to any family and even that’s arguable to a certain degree given other people’s attitudes towards Davis. At times, their bitterness particularly in Jean (Carey Mulligan) is justified considering Davis’ impulsiveness and/or rudeness. With all of his constant shifting and determination to land the right gig, we spot a bit more humanity in him through his music. The lyrical makeup of many of those is a bit downtrodden, but they are appropriate for Davis as well as a gateway to his true feelings. Ellen Chenoweth, the casting director for this film, has placed the perfect person to relay these emotions in Oscar Isaac. As he sings, Isaac pours out so much emotion especially in a slower version of “Fare Thee Well”, a song previously performed by him and his partner (Marcus Mumford). It is in these moments that we can fully grasp just how deep his emotions run and Isaac completely defines this for us in his voice.
Audiences are also treated to songs performed by Justin Timberlake, Carey Mulligan, Marcus Mumford, and Adam Driver. “Please, Mr. Kennedy” is a particularly amusing sequence in which Isaac, Timberlake, and Driver collaborate. Between Timberlake’s jovial mannerisms and Driver’s backup vocals (or noises, rather), it’s one of those occasional moments of hilarity that is both appreciated and ever so properly placed. John Goodman, in the short period of time that he’s in the film, manages to amuse us in his rather harsh dialogue to Davis about his life and his career, while making us feel for Davis (as if we needed another reason to feel bad for him). Although most of his one-liners are in the trailer, it’s still nice to see the Coen favorite shine in a role not too unlike his character in ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou’ given that ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ is a film about one man’s odyssey.
While there are little moments to amuse us (especially a subplot surrounding a cat), ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ is an emotional downer. Highlighting the fact that not every folk singer met success, there is a kind of low and heavy tone as illustrated by the (almost) washed-out/blue cinematography. Audiences, like Davis, aren’t going to get a satisfactory result as we sometimes discover in life. The point of this movie is to show what’s going on inside Llewyn Davis during this dark period in his life. As this is completely acceptable given that the stereotype of most Hollywood films is to display success stories, the story’s structure starts to give rather rapidly in the last third of the film.
At a certain point, the film starts to repeat itself. A storytelling technique like this one would have a more substantial impact in either a thriller or a science fiction movie where psychologically toying with one’s audience is the goal. Using this technique in a drama would send a clearer message to audiences if it led to something other than an ending that leaves absolutely nothing to the imagination. Our character utters a single line and we’re left cold in the dark with no closure. ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ constantly emphasizes the life of a not-so-successful folk singer, but without a final plot point, it’s as though there wasn’t much thought given to the end of the script and it raises the question as to whether or not we’re meant to care about his Davis’ life and where he might end up. We’re not left wanting more, but with a sort of emptiness.
‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ is a testament to what actors—particularly Isaac—can bring emotionally in song. Although its script diminishes the film’s Oscar-winning potential, the story is unique in the way that it breaks from the normal.
Jim’s Rating: 7.2/10