Jack and I loved this story of an unlikable loser of a 1961 folksinger, starring the Coen brothers' distinctive filmmaking style of awkward humor and bad choices sprinkled with snow. Oscar Isaac (I don't remember him in Body of Lies nor Drive) shines as the title character and puts his Juilliard training to good use, performing his songs himself. First rate supporting help comes from a very angry Carey Mulligan (last blogged in The Great Gatsby) and a sweet Justin Timberlake (most recently in Bad Teacher) as Jean and Jim, an inscrutable John Goodman (last in Flight), and more.
Another trademark of Minnesotan co-directors/-writers Ethan & Joel Coen (last in these pages in True Grit) missing here is gore. And other than Llewyn's getting beaten up in the beginning of the movie, there isn't any. I don't think it's a spoiler to tell you that what follows is a flashback. I wondered why he wasn't hurt in the next scene and then forgot about it until the beat-up scene came around again--Jack whispered the reason.
Some of the accolades (dozens of nominations and 21 wins so far) are for the music. Almost all of the songs are listed on imdb, sung by the likes of Isaac, Mulligan, Timberlake, Punch Brothers, Marcus Mumford, Stark Sands (we saw him last year as one of the stars of Kinky Boots on Broadway!), among others. Inspired by the actual New York folk scene of the 60s, including a real life Jim & Jean (watch, if you like, a video with a short interview and listen to another song) and Dave Von Ronk (listen here and notice that Llewyn's album cover mirrors that of Inside Dave Von Ronk) who sings over the end credits and whose memoir The Mayor of MacDougal Street also served as inspiration. Rolling Stone magazine points out other similarities and homages in this spoiler-filled article. But, to be clear, this isn't a movie about those people. It's fiction.
Starting Sunday, January 5, Showtime will be airing a concert movie called Another Day/ Another Time; Celebrating the Music of "Inside Llewyn Davis" with the Avett Brothers (Scott Avett auditioned to play Llewyn), Punch Brothers, Joan Baez, and more, as well as a documentary called Inside "Inside Llewyn Davis." I've set the DVR to record them during the day so I can catch lots of winter premieres tomorrow evening.
Rottentomatoes' critics are averaging 93% and audiences 75. We're with the critics.
This is on my list. Remember the early '60s folk singers and the Greenwich Village scene from college days then just south of NYC in New Jersey. The Beatles swept a lot of this away in 1964, and I remember McDougal Street as McDougal "Alley." This period was a holdover from the Beat Generation while the folks back in Columbus were divided between Elvis and Pat Boone.
ReplyDeleteDave Inglis