Jamie Turner80
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37 messages
joined Jul 2009
Inside Llewyn Davis is simultaneously coherent and confusing, brimming with references that perhaps don't point to anything specific. While it is set in the past and based on a real figure (Van Ronk), it isn't particularly historical or biographical in nature. It adheres to the essence of a Coen film in terms of theme, style, and philosophical outlook—regardless of the era, for every person who succeeds, there are a hundred who fail, and life remains difficult, futile, and absurd, though it can be entertaining or at least amusing to observe. However, the directors eschew the typical Coen irony regarding their characters. They seem to identify with the title character, adding an interesting autobiographical note: talent and hard work are no guarantee of success, evidenced by the fact that they, four-time Oscar winners, had to seek funding across the Atlantic. Yet, much like our protagonist, they neither desire nor solicit any sympathy for themselves. It is a truly peculiar movie.
The story takes place in 1961, in New York City, centered around the folk revival scene in Greenwich Village. It captures a sort of transitional period where the Beats were fading out, yet the hippie movement had not yet ascended. The folk scene around Greenwich Village was more of a tight-knit circle than a full-blown industry, and Bob Dylan is nowhere to be seen. Of course, there are folk artists who managed to break through primarily by flirting with the pop scene, but Llewyn Davis is not one of them. Once part of a moderately successful duo, he is left alone on the stage following his partner's suicide, penniless and homeless, left entirely to the mercy of friends, acquaintances, and colleagues.
It is clear from the start that the Coens are going to run him through a metaphorical torture machine, as he is the quintessentially atypical-typical Coen loser. Much like Burton Fink, he is an artist whose very existence is under threat, but unlike him, he possesses undeniable talent in his craft. Like Ulysses Everet McGill (Brother Where art Thou), he wanders through a merciless world, but unlike him, he lacks a fixed objective. This isn't an odyssey; it's just drifting. And finally, like Larry Gopnik (A Serious Man), Llewyn is plagued by incredible bad luck, such that "everything he touches turns to shit," as one line suggests. But this isn't due to some cosmic conspiracy or ancestral sin; when things go wrong, Llewyn is largely responsible for his own mess.
more at:
http://film-na-dan.blogspot.com/2014...wyn-davis.html
