Since I’m a huge Oscar Isaac fan, I’ve been wanting to see Inside Llewyn Davis, the Coen Brothers’ 2013 movie about a struggling folk singer, for quite a while. It wasn’t until March 12, however, that I realized it’s been on Amazon Prime for free this whole time. So naturally, I curled up in my basement and watched it, fully prepared for the emotional journey I was about to go on.
Spoiler alert: I was not prepared.
From the minute Llewyn (Oscar Isaac) sings his first song--a haunting rendition of “Hang Me, Oh Hang Me”--I was absolutely hooked. Isaac is such a compelling actor, and as Llewyn Davis, the titular folk singer, I’m fully convinced he gave the best performance of his career so far. The movie opens on him singing in the Gaslight, a later legendary landmark in what is now known as the “folk revival.” Once he finishes performing, the owner, Pappi, lets him know that there’s someone waiting for him outside--and that someone immediately beats him up. He passes out, and when he wakes up, he’s in an apartment.
And there’s a bright orange cat sniffing his face. With this, we’re tossed headfirst into Llewyn’s world--a sepia-toned version of 1960s New York--and his story, which though it will make your heart bleed for him, is ultimately one of hope.
Like most movies, it’s the characters that won me over in this one. Llewyn is a man you can’t help but root for. He’s rough around the edges, bearded and scruffy, and you can tell from looking at him that he’s gone through a lot. He hops from couch to couch, no permanent place to stay, forever waiting for his solo career to take off while still mourning the loss of his partner. Sure, he isn’t always likable--there’s a heartwrenching scene where he rages against a friend of his after she sings the harmony to a song he shared with his partner--but he always finds a way to bring you back to his side. Maybe it’s just because I have a spot in my heart for struggling musicians. I found myself constantly in his corner, though not without laying on my couch and saying “Oh, Llewyn,” every time he made a terrible decision. And believe me, he made a lot of them by the movie’s end, all of which came back to bite him.
The plethora of supporting characters each had their own engaging story, and I managed to form an opinion on every single one, no matter how brief their appearance. Jean (Carey Mulligan), likely the one with the most screen time other than Llewyn, shows up every once in a while to complicate matters more for Llewyn and cuss him out, who may or may not have gotten her pregnant (she’s not sure who the father is). Her husband Jim (Justin Timberlake) is a fellow singer, and he’s overall, a pretty likable dude. Together, they naturally form a folk duo, and they also frequently play the Gaslight. Stark Sands makes a brief appearance as Troy Nelson, a soldier-turned-folk-singer who’s also staying at Jim and Jean’s place, and he performs a lovely rendition of “Five Hundred Miles” with them. Adam Driver portrays Al Cody, a sweet country singer who, alongside Jim and Llewyn, performs “Please Mr. Kennedy,” which I watch more frequently than I’d like to admit because it’s hilarious. There are multiple others, but in the interest of not spoiling too much of the plot, I’m going to refrain from mentioning them because, for the most part, this is a spoiler-free zone.
I can’t talk about this movie without mentioning the songs. Though I think the only one written for the movie is “Please Mr. Kennedy,” the others, which are traditional folk songs, lend themselves so well to the story. “Fare Thee Well,” also known as “Dink’s Song,” appears throughout, and it ties everything together so beautifully. My personal favorite was “The Death of Queen Jane,” but that’s simply because I’m a Tudor history fan, and it tied two of my interests together so well. My only complaint is that the soundtrack featuring Oscar Isaac is not available for streaming on any platform I’ve found, but hey, at least I’m supporting folk artists!
All in all, this movie’s incredible. I’d recommend it to people who enjoyed A Star is Born and La La Land, since they’re all sad movies about struggling musicians. It instantly became a favorite, and I’m already planning to rewatch it sometime in the future.