Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

kineticandroid June 21, 2014

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 own…

CinemaSerf March 30, 2024

★ 7/10

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 …