I had the fortunate opportunity to attend an advanced screening of the Coen brothers latest project, Inside Llewyn Davis. This film officially comes out December 20. If you are a Coen brothers fan, then you'll love this one. If not, be prepared for a different viewing experience from all those blockbusters.Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) is a young struggling folk singer in 1961 Greenwich Village, dealing with every possible life crisis. From unexpected pregnancies and the death of his musical partner to an inability to find work and losing a cat, Davis just can't seem to catch a break. I found myself wanting him to overcome it all as he went to great lengths to fix his and others' problems, sometimes with success, but mostly with mixed results.
What I loved most about it was the acting, especially during the scenes of Davis' performances. Isaac (also from action flicks such as Sucker Punch) makes me root for his character, even though he is really a moody, stubborn, lazy artist. I must also applaud Carey Mulligan, playing temperamental Jean, who played pissed off really well. John Goodman and Justin Timberlake are a couple other faces you will recognize.
The music in this film is absolutely beautiful, though. Probably the best soundtrack I've heard from a film in a very long time. Of course it's folk music, but the scenes where Davis performs his work is just breathtaking. He plays his whole song in the scene, which seems a bit long-winded. But I was entranced and followed him into his own world where I could see he really felt something behind each lyric. If you don't see the movie, at least give the soundtrack a listen.
Even though I have only seen a couple of the duo's projects, I immediate sensed picked up on their usual bag of tricks - long periods of no dialogue, dry humor, and a vague plot line - right away. Their cinematography is gorgeous throughout the film. But the Coen duo usually films in a more artistic style, away from the Hollywood blockbuster formula.
So I reiterate that this film will take more patience to grasp and understand than the other holiday movies coming out. But that is not necessarily a bad thing.
